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| *Sushil Kumar wins gold in 74 kg freestyle
wrestling PTI
Sushil
Kumar wins gold in 74 kg freestyle wrestling (PTI Photo) - See more at:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/sports-news/commonwealthgames2014glasgow/wrestler-sushil-kumar-the-sole-claimant-to-the-title-of-india-s-mahabali/article1-1246704.aspx#sthash.qtRH1UDW.dpuf
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Is Sushil Kumar the
closest we can get to a desi superhero? Everything about his life — his early
struggle, the legend of his triumphs on the field and his conduct away from the
akhara — lives up to tales of heroism we have heard.
From the legend of
Bhima to the ‘Hum Saath Saath Hain’ model of happy families popularised by the
Barjatyas, Sushil reminds us of many Indian virtues we hold so close to our
heart.
Indian mythology tells us the halo of heroism was reserved
for those who were ‘Mahabali’ on the battlefield.
Though there were great archers like Arjuna and Karna for
competition, the juiciest tales of man-vs-man fight were spun around those who
could make the enemy taste the mud of akhara — Bhima, Duryodhana, Jarasandha
and Mahavir Hanuman — men and god who had the strength of a thousand elephants.
If mythology were to be rewritten again, Sushil would be the
sole claimant to the title of the Mahabali (the most powerful).
The description of a man with arms like boulders,
thighs like pillars and the heart of a lion — words used often in childhood
tales to describe Bhima or some of his foes — conjures just one image, that of
Sushil.
A family that wrestles together wins the gold
Wrestling is not limited to akhara. Every day we wage tough fights in the battlefield of life. But the story of a DTC bus driver and his family should inspire us to believe that with the right dav-pech (moves), determination and courage, the gold can be won, year after year.
Sushil was born in a lower middle-class family. He went to the akhara first with his cousin, who gave up his passion because only one in the family could have pursued his dream.
With no funds available from the government for wrestlers — they aren't cricketers, silly — the family realised their tinned ghee and desi milk was enough just for one.
Today, as an old saying goes, rivers of milk and ghee flow through the homes of the Jat family of Najafgarh.
- See more at: http://www.hindustantimes.com/sports-news/commonwealthgames2014glasgow/wrestler-sushil-kumar-the-sole-claimant-to-the-title-of-india-s-mahabali/article1-1246704.aspx#sthash.qtRH1UDW.dpuf
Wrestling is not limited to akhara. Every day we wage tough fights in the battlefield of life. But the story of a DTC bus driver and his family should inspire us to believe that with the right dav-pech (moves), determination and courage, the gold can be won, year after year.
Sushil was born in a lower middle-class family. He went to the akhara first with his cousin, who gave up his passion because only one in the family could have pursued his dream.
With no funds available from the government for wrestlers — they aren't cricketers, silly — the family realised their tinned ghee and desi milk was enough just for one.
Today, as an old saying goes, rivers of milk and ghee flow through the homes of the Jat family of Najafgarh.
- See more at: http://www.hindustantimes.com/sports-news/commonwealthgames2014glasgow/wrestler-sushil-kumar-the-sole-claimant-to-the-title-of-india-s-mahabali/article1-1246704.aspx#sthash.qtRH1UDW.dpuf
A family that wrestles together wins the gold
Wrestling is not limited to akhara. Every day we wage tough
fights in the battlefield of life. But the story of a DTC bus driver and his
family should inspire us to believe that with the right dav-pech (moves),
determination and courage, the gold can be won, year after year.
Sushil was born in a lower middle-class family. He went to
the akhara first with his cousin, who gave up his passion because only one in
the family could have pursued his dream.
With no funds available from the government for wrestlers —
they aren't cricketers, silly — the family realised their tinned ghee and desi
milk was enough just for one.
Today, as an old saying goes, rivers of milk and ghee
flow through the homes of the Jat family of Najafgarh.
A fighter doesn’t quit till he is on the podium
Sushil is wrestling since 1998, when he was 15. Just to put
it in perspective, this was when Azharuddin was still the captain of India and Rahul
Dravid was settling down at the crease. One is now a semi-retired politician
and the other a brilliant commentator.
But Sushil has been marching from one podium to the other:
Asian Games, Commonwealth Championships, Commonwealth Games, World
Championships and Olympics, turning defeats into triumphs, silvers into golds
and bronzes into silvers.
The history of Indian sport is full of fallen stars, legends
who let us down, heroes who failed us at crucial moments, cricketers who took
ages to cross personal milestones. But Sushil has always left India with just
one message: See you on the victory podium.
Winners make it large only on battlefield
We have heard filmstars tell us ‘large banate jao’. We have
seen sportsmen turn into kings of ‘good times’. Sushil, it is suspected,
follows the advice but only when only when he advertising his favourite drink,
which remains milk.
Soon after the 2012 Olympics, Sushil refused an offer for
becoming the brand ambassador of a liquor company, saying he did not want to
send wrong signals to the youth. The company immediately turned to cricketers.
Isn’t the idea of a young boy from a modest family fighting
against heavy odds, lifting his opponents and throwing them on the mat, winning
every major fight of his life and then settling down with a glass of milk to
celebrate, the closest we have come to realising the dream of a desi superhero?
- See more at:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/sports-news/commonwealthgames2014glasgow/wrestler-sushil-kumar-the-sole-claimant-to-the-title-of-india-s-mahabali/article1-1246704.aspx#sthash.qtRH1UDW.dpuf
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