Wrestling: Kumar shoulders India’s Olympic hopes

LONDON: Sushil Kumar has already carried India’s flag at the London Olympics; now the wrestler carries his country’s hopes of an elusive gold medal. Beijing shooting champion Abhinav Bindra, India’s first individual gold medallist, crashed out in the first round in London while boxer Mary Kom took bronze on Wednesday to add to the one won in badminton by Saina Nehwal. Now the spotlight falls on Kumar, a Beijing bronze medallist and the 2010 world champion, as he aims for gold in the men’s 66kg freestyle wrestling class. “There are few wrestlers I haven’t wrestled so far,” said Kumar. “You will have to be prepared for anything. People back home have lot of expectation not only from me but from other wrestlers as well. We are determined to give our best. But then, it is sports. Nothing can be predicted for sure.”

Published in The Express Tribune, August 10^th, 2012.