“Self-respect is much more important than the easy-money,” says two-time Olympic medallist in wrestling, Sushil Kumar, who was offered bribe on the eve before his bout during 2010 World Championships in Moscow. This clearly indicates that match-fixing has surely extended its roots to all sports apart from cricket and example set by Sushil is something that budding sportspersons should learn from the very early age.
While he was preparing for his final match against Russian Alan Gogaev, Sushil was approached for losing the bout. He was quoted by Times of India saying, "A member of my entourage came up to me and said, 'Sushil, kushti ki liye keh rahe hai (They want to talk about the bout)'."
"When he explained the whole thing, I was aghast," remembers Sushil. "The money offered was around a good few crores. For a wrestler, it was really good money. The offer was communicated to one of our foreign coaches. The event was taking place in Russia and my final opponent was a Russian. It's our country so our player should win — that's what they wanted," he said.
He went onto say, "I said, 'It's very strange. Here, we are on the threshold of getting the winning belt home to India, and I'm supposed to tank the final?'"
Sushil brushed away this tought from his mind and started focusing on his bout and eventually won it by 3-1 against Gogaev and brought India's only world championship wrestling gold medal.
"It was not a matter of two or four crores. Humari bhi izzat ki baat thhi," said the champion during a visit to Times House on the one-year anniversary of his return home after his silver medal at the London Olympics.
Sushil was quite happy after achieving that feat and what was more pleasing was the overwhelming applause that he received from the crowd after claiming his title in Moscow which also included his semi-finalist opponent Jabrail Hasanov whom he defeated by 4-3.
Sushil was quoted by The Hindu saying, "As I climbed down from the mat, I looked up and remembered noticing that there was no one sitting. Everyone in the stadium was giving me a standing ovation. It was most humbling.”
He went on to cherish the memories that he had and was quoted saying, "I have participated in four or five world championships, but the support I received in Moscow in 2010 was commendable. To beat a home wrestler in a country with a strong wrestling base is not an easy task.”
Recovering from his shoulder injury, Sushil is currently focusing on the World Championships which will be from September 16-22 in Budapest. He is having quite a busy schedule as he devotes his time between the SAI Centre in Sonipat for his training in the morning whereas in evening he is quite busy doing the same at the Chhatrasal Stadium.
Being a fan of cricketing God, Sachin Tendulkar, was no surprise but he watched cricket because of Virender Sehwag. He was quoted by Hindustan Times saying, "You learn so much simply by just sitting next to Sachin. Once during a promotional event, we were having dinner and he leaned over and told me, 'If you want to win another medal then stay as you are and don't follow these people by doing the things they do.' I looked up to see which people and he was pointing to some of his fellow cricketers. I won't name which ones. You make your conclusion.”
He also cherish to watch Lionel Messi play as he said, "His passing game is exemplary. It's always a joy to watch.”
