Wrestlers eyeing cocktail of luck and draw in Beijing

Since then the sport has seen many ups and downs, and although India is fielding half the number that it sent to Athens (three) — Yogeshwar Dutt (60kg), Sushil Kumar (66kg) and Rajiv Tomar (120kg) — the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) said it won’t be surprised if one of them emulate Yadav’s feat.

“Frankly speaking, we don’t have much expectations from Rajiv Tomar who is competing in the super heavy weight category (120kg) as plenty of top class wrestlers will be participating in that category. But Sushil and Yogeshwar might land up with a medal in their category. They have defeated 50 per cent of the wrestlers who will be competing in their category in Beijing,” WFI President GS Mandher said.

“What they need is a little bit of luck and a favourable draw,” he added.

The person who knows the trio better, National coach PR Sondhi too was optimistic about Yogeshwar and Sushil’s chances in the quadrennial event.

“Sushil and Yogeshwar are in great form. You never know they can land up with a medal in Beijing. They have defeated many Beijing-bound wrestlers in the competitions before the Olympics,” Sondhi said.