Sushil Kumar is the only Indian to have won individual medals at two Olympic Games in wrestling, and the man who turned freestyle wrestling into a sport the country expected to win in. Bronze in Beijing in 2008 and silver in London in 2012 sat either side of a world title in Moscow in 2010. Three Commonwealth Games golds followed across eight years. His later life has been dominated by a murder case that remains before the courts.
Name: Sushil Kumar | Born: 26 May 1983, Baprola, Delhi | Sport: Wrestling | Event: Freestyle 60 kg, 66 kg and 74 kg
From Baprola to the Chhatrasal akhada
Sushil grew up in Baprola, a village near Najafgarh in south-west Delhi. At 14 he was sent to the akhada at Chhatrasal Stadium, where he trained under Yashvir and Ramphal before coming under the wing of Satpal, the Asian Games champion and Arjuna awardee who ran the centre.
He later joined Indian Railways and worked his way up to the post of senior commercial manager with Northern Railway, while continuing his training under Railways coaches Gyan Singh and Rajkumar Baisla. Away from the mat he completed bachelor’s and master’s degrees in physical education.
Early international medals
Sushil first made his mark in the 60 kg class. In 2003 he won bronze at the Asian Championships in New Delhi and gold at the Commonwealth Championships in London, and he went to the Athens Olympics in 2004 without reaching the medal rounds. He then moved up to 66 kg, the class that would define his career. He won the Commonwealth Championships again in 2005, 2007 and 2009, took bronze at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha and collected silver at the 2007 Asian Championships in Bishkek, followed by bronze in Jeju a year later.
The Beijing bronze
Beijing in 2008 began badly. Sushil lost his opening bout to Andriy Stadnik of Ukraine and had to wait to see whether Stadnik would reach the final, which would give him a route back through the repechage. Stadnik did. Sushil then beat Doug Schwab of the United States and Albert Batyrov of Belarus, and on 20 August 2008 he beat Leonid Spiridonov of Kazakhstan 3-1 in the bronze medal bout.
It was India’s first Olympic wrestling medal since K. D. Jadhav’s bronze at Helsinki in 1952, a gap of 56 years. He shared the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna for 2009 with boxers Vijender Singh and Mary Kom.
World champion in Moscow
The next two years were the best of his career. In 2010 he won the Asian Championships in New Delhi, then went to Moscow for the World Championships and won the 66 kg gold, India’s first world title in wrestling. Weeks later he added Commonwealth Games gold in Delhi in front of a home crowd. He received the Padma Shri in 2011.
London 2012 silver
By London he was the senior figure in Indian sport, and he carried the flag at the opening ceremony. He worked through the 66 kg draw and beat Akzhurek Tanatarov of Kazakhstan in the semi-final, a bout that ended in controversy when Tanatarov complained that Sushil had bitten his ear, which Sushil denied. In the final he lost to Tatsuhiro Yonemitsu of Japan. The silver made him the first Indian to win individual medals at two Olympics.
Commonwealth golds at 74 kg
After London he moved up to 74 kg. He won Commonwealth Games gold in Glasgow in 2014, the Commonwealth Championships in Johannesburg in 2017 and a third Commonwealth Games gold on the Gold Coast in 2018. The road to Rio was closed when Narsingh Yadav, who had earned India’s quota place in the class, was preferred for the 2016 Games after a dispute over selection that went to court. Sushil competed at the 2019 World Championships but did not reach another Olympics.
The Chhatrasal case
In May 2021 Delhi Police arrested Sushil in connection with the death of former junior national champion Sagar Dhankhar, who was fatally injured in a brawl at Chhatrasal Stadium on 4 May 2021. A Delhi court framed charges, including murder, against him and others in 2022. The Delhi High Court granted him regular bail in March 2025, but the Supreme Court set that order aside on 13 August 2025 and directed him to surrender. In August 2026 the High Court refused a fresh bail application. The trial is continuing and no verdict has been given.
Career record and honours
- Olympic Games: bronze, Beijing 2008 (66 kg); silver, London 2012 (66 kg)
- World Championships: gold, Moscow 2010 (66 kg)
- Asian Games: bronze, Doha 2006 (66 kg)
- Asian Championships: gold 2010; silver 2007; bronze 2003 and 2008
- Commonwealth Games: gold 2010 (66 kg), 2014 and 2018 (74 kg)
- Commonwealth Championships: gold 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2017
- India’s flag bearer at the London 2012 opening ceremony
- Arjuna Award (2005)
- Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna (2009, shared)
- Padma Shri (2011)
