Sushil Kumar

Sushil Kumar Solanki (born 26 May 1983)[1] is an Indian freestyle wrestler. He was competing in the 66 kg weight division when he won the 2010 world title, a silver medal at the 2012 London Olympics and a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which made him the only Indian (since independence) to win two individual Olympic medals.[9][10] He carried the Indian flag at the opening ceremony of 2012 London Olympics. His 2008 Olympic medal was second for India in wrestling, and the first since Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav's bronze medal at the 1952 Summer Olympics.[11] In July 2009, he received the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna – India's highest honour for sportspersons.[12] On 3 October 2010, Kumar handed the Queen's Baton to Prince Charles in the Queen's Baton Relay for the 2010 Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony.[13][14] Sushil won the gold medal in the 74 kg division at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.[15]

This article is about the wrestler. For other people with the same name, see Sushil Kumar (disambiguation).

Sushil Kumar
Kumar in 2014
Personal information
NationalityIndian
Born (1983-05-26) 26 May 1983[1]
Baprola, Najafgarh, Delhi, India
Height166 cm (5 ft 5 in)[2]
Sport
CountryIndia
SportWrestling
Event(s)Freestyle
ClubNIS, Delhi
Coached bySatpal Singh
Medal record
Representing  India
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Olympic Games - 1 1
World Wrestling Championships 1 - -
Asian Games - - 1
Commonwealth Games 3 - -
Asian Wrestling Championships 1 1 2
Total 5 2 4
Olympic Games
2008 Beijing 66 kg Freestyle
2012 London 66 kg Freestyle
World Championships
2010 Moscow 66 kg Freestyle
Commonwealth Games
2010 Delhi 66 kg Freestyle
2014 Glasgow 74 kg Freestyle
2018 Gold Coast 74 kg Freestyle
Asian Games
2006 Doha 66 Kg Freestyle
Asian Championships
2003 New Delhi 60 kg Freestyle
2007 Bishkek 66 kg Freestyle
2008 Jeju Island 66 kg Freestyle
2010 New Delhi 66 kg Freestyle
Commonwealth Championship
2003 London[3] 60 kg Freestyle
2005 Cape Town[4] 66 kg Freestyle
2005 Cape Town[5] 66 kg GR
2007 London[6] 66 kg Freestyle
2009 Jalandhar[7] 66 kg Freestyle
2017 Johannesburg[8] 74 kg Freestyle
Updated on 26 February 2018.

Biography of Sushil Kumar Solanki

Kumar was born in Baprola village,[16][17] near Najafgarh in South West Delhi. His father, Diwan Singh,[18] was a driver in MTNL Delhi, while his mother, Kamla Devi, is a housewife.

Kumar was inspired to take up wrestling by his father, himself a wrestler, and his cousin Sandeep. Sandeep later stopped competing as the family could only support one wrestler. Kumar trained in pehlwani wrestling at the akhada (wrestling school) in the Chhatrasal Stadium from the age of 14. With minimal funds and poor training facilities for wrestling in India, even for the 2008 Olympic team, his family made sure he obtained the necessary dietary supplements by sending him tinned milk, ghee and fresh vegetables.[19][20] He is a devoted Hindu and strict vegetarian.[21][22]

He has completed his Graduation (B.P.E.) and Post-Graduation (M.P.E.) from Noida College of Physical Education,Dadri. Kumar is presently employed with the Indian Railways as an assistant commercial manager.[11]

Career
Kumar at 2008 Summer Olympics

Kumar started training in pehlwani at the Chhatrasal Stadium's akhada at the age of 14. He was trained at the akhada by Yashvir and Ramphal, later by Arjuna awardee Satpal and then at the Indian Railways camp by Gyan Singh and Rajkumar Baisla Gurjar.[11][23]

After switching to freestyle wrestling Kumar's first success came at the World Cadet Games in 1998 where he won the gold medal in his weight category, followed by a gold at the Asian Junior Wrestling Championship in 2000. Moving out of the junior competitions, in 2003 Kumar won the bronze medal at the Asian Wrestling Championships and a gold at the Commonwealth Wrestling Championships. Kumar placed fourth at the 2003 World Championships, but this went largely unnoticed by the Indian media as he fared badly in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, placing 14th in the 60 kg weight class. He won gold medals at the Commonwealth wrestling championships in 2005 and 2007. He placed seventh in the 2007 World Championships and won a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. He won a silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics, becoming the first person to win two Olympic medals for independent India.[24] Kumar was awarded the Arjuna Award in 2006 and a coveted Padma shree by the Indian Government in 2011.[25]

2008 Beijing Olympics

Kumar lost to Andriy Stadnik in the first round of the 66 kg freestyle wrestling event,[26] leaving his medal hopes hinging on the repechage. He defeated Doug Schwab in the first repechage round and Albert Batyrov in the second round. In the bronze medal match on 20 August 2008, Kumar beat Leonid Spiridonov 3:1.[27] Kumar disclosed that he had no masseur during the three bouts he won within a span of 70 minutes to take the bronze. The team manager Kartar Singh who is a former Asian Games medallist acted as the masseur for him.[28]

2010 World Wrestling Championships, Moscow

At the 2010 World Wrestling Championships Kumar became the first Indian to win a world title in wrestling. He beat the local favourite Alan Gogaev of Russia 3–1 in the finals in the 66 kg category.

2010 Commonwealth Games, Delhi

Kumar won gold medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games held in Delhi on 10 October 2010. He beat Heinrich Barnes 7–0 in the finals in the 66 kg freestyle wrestling category. The bout was stopped by the referee in the second round. Earlier, in the semifinals, Kumar defeated Famara Jarjou 3–0 within 9 seconds. In the quarterfinals, Kumar defeated Muhammad Salman 10–0 in 46 seconds.[29]

2012 London Olympics
Kumar (left) at the 2012 Olympics

Kumar won a silver medal after losing the final to Tatsuhiro Yonemitsu.[30] Earlier, he had entered the final amid some controversy by beating Kazakhastan's Akzhurek Tanatarov in the semifinal. The Kazakh athlete claimed that Kumar had bitten his ear, which was denied by the latter.[31] Kumar was the Olympic flag bearer for India at the opening ceremony.[32]

2014 Commonwealth Games, Glasgow

Kumar defeated Qamar Abbas in the 74 kg final to win the gold medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland. He won in 107 seconds by fall.

2018 Commonwealth Games, Gold Coast, Australia

Kumar won gold in 74 kg category on 12 April 2018, Thursday, beating South Africa’s Johannes Botha in the final that lasted 80 seconds thus achieving a feat of winning 3 gold medals in 3 consecutive commonwealth games.

International Competition

Summer Olympic
Year Competition Venue Event Rank opponent Score Repechage opponent Score
2012 2012 Olympic Games London 66 kg  Tatsuhiro Yonemitsu (JPN) Loss
2008 2008 Olympic Games Beijing 66 kg  Andriy Stadnik (UKR) Loss  Leonid Spiridonov (KAZ) Win
2004 2004 Olympic Games Athens 60 kg 14th  Yandro Quintana (CUB) Loss

World Championship
Year Competition Venue Event Rank opponent Score Repechase Score
2019 2019 World Wrestling Championships Nur-sultan 74 kg 20th  Khadzhimurad Gadzhiyev (AZE) Loss
2011 2011 World Wrestling Championships Istanbul 66 kg 14th  Andriy Stadnik (UKR) Loss
2010 2010 World Wrestling Championships Moscow 66 kg  Alan Gogaev (RUS) Win
2009 2009 World Wrestling Championships Herning 66 kg 5th  Rasul Dzhukayev (RUS) Loss  Tatsuhiro Yonemitsu (JPN) Loss
2007 2007 World Wrestling Championships Baku 66 kg 7th  Andriy Stadnik (UKR) Loss
2006 2006 World Wrestling Championships Guangzhou 66 kg 13th  Elman Asgarov (AZE) Loss
2003 2003 World Wrestling Championships New York City 60 kg 4th  Arif Abdullayev (AZE) Loss

Commercial endorsements
"I didn’t want to be associated with a liquor brand in any form as it would send a wrong signal to the youth. The sporting tradition that I have been raised in values discipline way above money."

– Sushil Kumar explaining reason for refusing a liquor ad.[33]

Kumar endorses brands such as Mountain Dew, Eicher tractors, and the National Egg Coordination Committee which earns him ₹10 million (US$140,000) annually. He refused the offer of ₹5 million (US$70,000) to appear in a surrogate ad for a leading liquor brand.[33]

Awards, rewards and recognition
For the bronze medal at 2008 Beijing Olympics
  • ₹5.5 million (US$77,000) cash award and promotion to Assistant Commercial Manager from chief ticketing inspector by Railway Ministry (his employer)[35]
  • ₹5 million (US$70,000) cash award from the Delhi Government.[35]
  • ₹2.5 million (US$35,000) award by the Haryana Government.[35]
  • ₹2.5 million (US$35,000) cash award by the Steel Ministry of India.[35]
  • ₹500,000 (US$7,000) cash award by R K Global.[35]
  • ₹1 million (US$14,000) cash award by the Maharashtra State Government.
  • ₹1 million (US$14,000) cash award from MTNL.
For the gold medal at 2010 World Wrestling Championships
  • ₹1 million (US$14,000) cash award from Indian Railways (his employer) & out-of-turn promotion from his current position of Asst. Commercial Manager.
  • ₹1 million (US$14,000) cash award from Sports Authority of India, (Government of India).
  • ₹1 million (US$14,000) cash award from the Delhi Government
For the silver medal at 2012 London Olympics
  • ₹20 million (US$280,000) cash reward from the Delhi Government
  • ₹15 million (US$210,000) cash reward from the Haryana Government
  • ₹07.5 million (US$110,000) cash reward from the Indian Railway
  • Land area in Sonipat for Wrestling academy by the Haryana Government.
  • ₹1 million (US$14,000) cash award from ONGC.[36]

See also

References
  1. "Athlete Biography: Sushil Kumar". The Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Archived from the original on 23 August 2008. Retrieved 20 August 2008.
  2. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Sushil Kumar". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020.
  3. Lokapally, Vijay (August 2003). "There's a steady improvement". Sportstar. The Hindu Group. Archived from the original on 27 November 2016. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  4. "Indian grapplers sweep gold in Commonwealth Championship". Zee News. 2 July 2005. Archived from the original on 27 November 2016. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  5. "2005 – Commonwealth Wrestling Championships – Information & RESULTS". Commonwealth Amateur Wrestling Association (CAWA). Archived from the original on 21 October 2013. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
  6. "2007 – Commonwealth Wrestling Championships – Information & RESULTS". Commonwealth Amateur Wrestling Association (CAWA). Archived from the original on 23 October 2013. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
  7. "Sushil wins gold at Commonwealth Wrestling". NDTV. PTI. 20 December 2009. Archived from the original on 17 September 2016. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  8. "Sushil Kumar wins gold at Commonwealth Wrestling Championship". Hindustan Times. Press Trust of India (PTI). 17 December 2017. Archived from the original on 22 December 2017. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
  9. Naik, Shivani (27 December 2015). "From MS Dhoni to Leander Paes to Sushil Kumar, India's biggest sport stars who might retire in 2016". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 6 June 2016. Retrieved 6 June 2016. ...India’s only individual double Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar.
  10. "Kumar claims 63kg bronze". The Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. 20 August 2008. Archived from the original on 1 September 2008. Retrieved 20 August 2008.
  11. Masand, Ajai (20 August 2008). "Meet Sushil Kumar, the shy guy". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 1 September 2008. Retrieved 21 August 2008.
  12. "Mary Kom, Vijender and Sushil get Khel Ratna". The Hindu. 29 July 2009
  13. CBC, 2010 Commonwealth Games, Opening Ceremonies, airdate 3 October 2010, 9:00am-12:30pm (Eastern), c. 2h20m mark, CBC Television main network
  14. "CWG Opening ceremony: Live Blog" Archived 4 October 2010 at the Wayback Machine, Geetika Rustagi, 3 October 2010 (Retrieved 5 October 2010)
  15. "Commonwealth Games 2014 : Wrestler`s Amit Kumar, Sushil Kumar and Vinesh won gold". Patrika Group. 30 July 2014. Archived from the original on 1 August 2014. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  16. "Man from Bansur achieved what 'Pocket Dynamo' did 56 years ago". The Times of India. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
  17. "Sushil's journey: From mud pit to Olympic podiums". The Hindu. 12 August 2012. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
  18. Kallury, Kruttika. "Sushil Kumar: Lord of the ring". India Today. India Today Group.
  19. Ganesan, Uthra (21 August 2008). "Najafgarh hails golden bronze boy". Express India. Archived from the original on 22 September 2008. Retrieved 21 August 2008.
  20. "Sushil puts Boprala on wrestling map of the world". Sify. 20 August 2008. Retrieved 21 April 2006.
  21. Sengupta, Somini (25 August 2008). "3 Olympic medals for a new India". The New York Times.
  22. A sporty edge. Telegraphindia.com (15 February 2009). Retrieved on 5 September 2015.
  23. Chakravertty, Shreya (21 August 2008). "20 to a room, two to a bed: This is where the medal came from". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 24 August 2008. Retrieved 21 August 2008.
  24. Sushil finally qualifies for London Olympics – IBNLive. Ibnlive.in.com (27 April 2012). Retrieved on 5 September 2015.
  25. Padma Shri for Laxman, Sushil Kumar. The Hindu (25 January 2011). Retrieved on 5 September 2015.
  26. "Grappler Sushil Kumar wins bronze". The Times of India. 20 August 2008. Retrieved 20 August 2008.
  27. "Bout Result Men's FR 66 kg Bronze /Bout No.92 /Mat B". The Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. 20 August 2008. Archived from the original on 29 August 2008. Retrieved 20 August 2008.
  28. Sengupta, Abhijit (28 August 2008). "Lessons from Beijing". The Hindu. Retrieved 4 September 2008.
  29. "Somdev Devvarman wins 29th CWG gold for India". The Times of India. 10 October 2010. Retrieved 10 October 2010.
  30. Olympics: Sushil Kumar writes history, wins silver for India Archived 16 August 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  31. "No, I didn't bite my opponent's ear: Sushil Kumar". The Times of India (28 August 2012). Retrieved on 5 September 2015.
  32. Olympics 2012: Sushil Kumar promises a fight by Indian wrestlers. Dnaindia.com (5 August 2012). Retrieved on 5 September 2015.
  33. "Sushil Kumar says no to Rs. 50-lakh liquor ad". Hindustan Times. 11 October 2012. Archived from the original on 12 October 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
  34. "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 November 2014. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  35. "Rewards pour in for Sushil Kumar". The Hindu. 20 August 2008. Archived from the original on 23 August 2008. Retrieved 20 August 2008.
  36. "ONGC announces 25 lakh rupees for each Olympics Gold". ONGC. 16 July 2012. Archived from the original on 1 November 2012. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
Olympic Games
Preceded by
Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore		 Flagbearer for  India
2012 London		 Succeeded by
Abhinav Bindra
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