Kainchi, Bharandaaz and Jadhav146;s legacy

Holding on

Dhyan Singh, Sushil8217;s Railways coach, pointed to the Kainchi scissors which his ward used effectively to down his Kazakh opponent. It8217;s a scorpio-like move in which, as an opponent grabs one of his legs, the wrestler uses the other to bring him down in a double-feet hold. 8220;He didn8217;t find much success with it in his second round match, but the Kainchi is like a double-edged sword. It was his best defence when he clinched the medal,8221; Singh says. Another daav hold that helped Sushil Kumar was the higly skilled Bhaarandaaz: a take-down with one hand beneath the rival8217;s abdomen, swiveling him around as the limbs touch down for two points.

Friendly foes

But beyond the technical nuances that brought glory to the two grapples, are stories of two men unique in pursuit of a medal. Unheralded even when they went for their second Olympics, the two share personality traits which mark them out from other flashy wrestlers. 8220;Sushil is a very steady and focused pehelwaan. Never unduly aggressive, with no anger, he uses his speed to win,8221; remarks Narsingh Yadav, a Railways team-mate and a 84 kg grappler from Mumbai.

Athens was unlucky for Sushil, but at Beijing, just like KD in Helsinki, he made no mistakes when it mattered.

Jagmal Singh, SAI coach at Kandivali, Mumbai, who had earlier trained Sushil for the Asian championships, celebrated at Patiala as wrestling trainees danced the bhangra to loud dholaks. Calling Sushil a simpleton, he said, 8220;He8217;s very sincere, a quiet chap, who will keep to his room after training, not fool around.8221;

But never one to hold back training knowledge, Narsingh recalls how Sushil was always ready to share tricks and training methods with everyone, not unlike KD Jadhav.

The biggest compliment though came from Maratha kushti taalim belt 8212; Kolhapur. Double Hind Kesari Ganpatrao Andalkar, who finished fifth at the Tokyo Olympics, was effusive in his praise for the new champion. 8220;We are proud that a wrestler has brought a medal for India 8212; it8217;s the best thing to happen to our sport. The boy showed what dedication and hard work can achieve. There can8217;t be a better time for wrestlers from Maharashtra to pull up their socks and revive KD8217;s glory,8221; he said, gushing over Sushil8217;s Bhaarandaaz 8212; the new move in vogue.

Sushil8217;s goody list

Railways: Rs 55 lakh and promotion to Asst Commercial Manager

Delhi: Rs 50 lakh; Haryana: Rs 25 lakh

Maharashtra: Rs 5 lakh

Rashtriya Swabhiman Samiti: Rs 11 lakh

Steel Ministry: Rs 25 lakh

RK Global Shares 038; Securities Ltd: Rs 5 lakh

SAIL, NDMC and RINL: Rs 25 lakh

Factfile

8226; Born on May 26, 1983 to a driver on the outskirts of Delhi, Sushil started wrestling when he was 14, under the tutelage of Satpal Singh 8212; a 1982 Asian Games gold medallist

8226; He made the Athens Olympics in 2004 in the 60kg category, but made an early exit despite being ranked fourth in the world

8226; He moved up to the 66kg weight category and finished eighth at the Asian Championship in Wuhan, China in 2005

8226; In 2006, he received the Arjuna Award and, later, went on to win a bronze at the Doha Asian Games

8226; Sushil qualified for the Beijing Olympics by finishing seventh at the World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan in 2007

8226; He won a silver medal at the Asian Championships at Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan in 2007