Sushil Kumar is an Indian World Champion wrestler who won the gold medal in the 66 kg freestyle competition at the FILA 2010 World Wrestling Championships, a silver medal in the Men's 66kg Freestyle Wrestling event at the 2012 London Olympics and a bronze medal in the Men's 66kg Freestyle Wrestling event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which made him the first Indian to win back to back individual Olympic medals.
Background
Sushil Kumar is born in a Jat family which hails from the village Baprola, near Najafgarh in South West Delhi. Kumar's father Diwan Singh was a DTC bus driver and mother Kamla Devi a housewife. He was inspired to take up wrestling by his cousin Sandeep and his father who was himself a pehlwan (wrestler). Sandeep quit wrestling as the family could only support one wrestler. Kumar trained at the akhada (wrestling school) in the Chhatrasal Stadium from the age of 14. With minimal funds and poor training facilities for wrestling in India, even for the 2008 Olympic team, his family made sure he obtained the necessary dietary supplements by sending him tinned milk, ghee and vegetables. He is a vegetarian.
Career
Sushil Kumar started his career at the Chatrasal Stadium's wrestling school, or akhada, at the age of 14 under the guidance of Indian wrestling legends Satpal Singh, Yashvir Singh and Ramphal Mann.
To get into fighting shape, Solanki has moved away from his home village in Baprola, Delhi, to a small hostel room based at his training camp at the Chatrasal Stadium 20km away.
"I've moved away from home because it gives me the opportunity to focus and dedicate myself to my art," he says. "Here I can train without any disruptions. My daily training regime usually involves three two-and-a-half-hour sessions, six times a week. Sunday is my rest day."
His first success came at the World Cadet Games in Poland in 1998 where he won the gold medal in his weight category. He followed this up with a gold in the Asian Junior Wrestling Championship in 2000.
Sushil Kumar won the bronze medal at the Asian Wrestling Championships in 2003 and followed that up with a gold medal at the Commonwealth Wrestling Championships. Sushil Kumar placed fourth in the World Championships in 2003, but this went largely unnoticed by the Indian media as he fared badly in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, in the 60 kg class placing 14th. He won gold medals at the Commonwealth Wrestling Championships in 2005 and 2007. He ranked seventh in the 2007 World Wrestling Championships and won a bronze medal in 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. He also qualified for 2012 Summer Olympics taking place at London and won a silver medal by defeating a wrestler from Kazakhstan. He became the first Indian to win 2 olympic medals.
Views
Quotations:
"I will never forget my roots; I'm from a working-class background and know what it means to do a hard day's work." Sushil Kumar
