Tags:
Journalism of Courage
In the traditional Indian way, Yogeshwar Dutt lowers his spine to touch the feet of his coaches before he steps on the wrestling mat. For his opponents, though, the 31-year-old’s outstretched arms would generally spell danger.
On Sunday, the grappler defeated Tajikistan’s Zalimkhan Yusupov in a thrilling final to finish on top of the podium in the 65 kg weight category in Incheon. In doing so, the London Olympics bronze medallist ended India’s 28-year wait for an Asian Games wrestling gold medal.
Incidentally, India’s last Asiad wrestling gold too came in South Korea, when Kartar Singh won the yellow metal at the 1986 Seoul Games. Since then, there have been quite a few silvers and bronze but a top-of-the-podium finish has eluded the country’s wrestlers. At the 1982 Delhi Asiad, Dutt’s coach, Satpal Singh, won India’s only gold.
“Of all the medals I have won, except the Olympics of course, winning this gold is meaningful and big for India, because there was no gold medal in wrestling for us for nearly 30 years,” said an exhausted Dutt later, as the crowd of expat Indians at the Dowon Gymnasium continued to chant his name.
Coach Satpal of course was delighted. He said that nearly 18 years ago, Dutt, along with Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar, walked into his akhara to learn his craft. But while Sushil went on to become one of the most decorated Olympians of the country, Dutt continued to live in his shadow.
When Sushil won the bronze at the Beijing Olympics, Dutt returned empty handed. And when he won the bronze four years later in London, his ‘brother’ bettered it with a silver medal. But this has never affected their friendship. “Sushil bhai has been my inspiration. How can I ever compare myself with him,” said Yogeshwar.
If Sushil is the star, Dutt is the workman. He does the “boring things” right during training, rather than indulging in the fancy. He uses his brains on the mat rather than putting up a mindless display of brute force.
His phitleys, or leg-locks, are a case in point. The move won him the bronze medal in London two years ago. Locked at 1-1 in the bout, Dutt grabbed Ri Jong Myong’s legs and rolled the North Korean on the mat several times to claim six points. For many Indians, it was the image of the Olympics. The move reaped rich dividends at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games as well, where he won the 65 kg freestyle gold.
Yet, he didn’t get his due. With little or no competition, a Commonwealth medal means little, some said. Others were quick to dismiss him as a “one-trick pony”. In his trademark manner, Dutt went about his preparations for the Asian Games, secretly gunning for “revenge”. “Not many can say those things now,” he said.
Doing away with the phitleys, his trusted manoeuvre, Dutt pulled off a tegga, or a pin-down, on China’s Yeerlanbieke Katai in an enthralling semifinal that left both him and his opponent completely drained. The Chinese wrestler had dominated the entire bout and was leading 7-9 before the Indian turned it around in the last few seconds. Reaching for Katai’s calf with one hand, and for his feet with the other, Dutt grabbed and locked him. He then pinned him down on the mat, forcing the referee to declare him the winner with a “victory by fall” verdict.
The move left Dutt so exhausted that he had to be lifted off the mat by his coaches. However, he managed to recover before the final against Yusupov, who was defensive in the extreme. “I wasn’t at my best in the final considering that the semifinal had taken a lot out of me. But there was no way I could have lost, especially after all the effort,” said Dutt, who was playing only his second tournament since the London Olympics after being sidelined due to knee and back injuries.
When he stepped on the podium with the Tricolour draped around his shoulders, Dutt didn’t forget his routine. He bent down and touched the podium in a mark of respect.
