Key Takeaways
Sushil Kumar is one of India's most celebrated wrestlers, with two Olympic medals.
He won a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and a silver at the 2012 London Olympics.
His accolades include multiple gold medals in Commonwealth Games and the World Championships.
Kumar's career took a severe downturn in 2021 due to legal issues.
Sushil Kumar was one of the most iconic Indian athletes of all time. He is only one of 2 Indians to win 2 Individual Olympic Medals. He was the face of Indian wrestling. He was born on 26th May 1983. He had the honor of carrying the Indian flag at the 2012 London Olympics. He was the second Olympic medalist in wrestling in 2008 after the great KD Jadhav.
Let’s look at the rise and fall of Sushil Kumar
Career
Sushil Kumar started training from the age of 14. He had various coaches in his career which included Yashvir, Rampal at first. Then he was coached by Arjuna Awardee Satpal and then by Rajkumar Gurjar. He switched to freestyle wrestling and in 1998 he won the World Cadet Games. He had a poor 2004 Athens Olympics where he finished 14th. After that he completely changed his work routine and the results were seen in the next 8 years.
2008 Beijing Olympics
Sushil Kumar had to depend on repechage as he lost his first match. He then beat Doug Schwab and then he beat Albert Batyrov. He advanced to the bronze medal match where he beat Lenoid Spridonov by 3:1. Sushil Kumar had won the first wrestling Olympic Medal for India since 1952. This was a moment to celebrate for his family and India.
2012 London Olympics
Sushil Kumar would better how performance from 4 years ago as this time he won the Silver Medal. He beat the Kazakhstan wrestler Akzhurek Tanatarov and he entered the final. He lost the final to Tatsuhiro Yonemitsu. Sushil Kumar had become the first ever individual double Olympic Medalist and he was eager to complete the set by winning the Gold Medal in 2016. However that could not happen.
Biggest Medals
Bronze medal at 2008 Beijing Olympics
Silver Medal at the 2012 London Olympics
Gold Medal at the 2010 World Championships in Moscow
Gold Medals at the 2010, 2014 and 2018 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, Glasgow and Gold Coast.
Bronze Medal at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha
Awards and Honors
He was awarded the Arjuna Award in 2005
He was awarded the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award in the year 2009
He was awarded the Padma Shri award in 2011
The Downfall
After all the success that he had seen , it was the year 2021 when it all came crashing down for Sushil Kumar. He was arrested on not just any crime but a murder charge as he was involved in the murder of a young wrestler named Sagar Dhankar during a brawl at the Chhatrasal Stadium in Delhi. In October 2021, A Judge ordered that Sushil Kumar would continue to be in jail and he would not get bail. The police presented evidence such as a video in which Sushil Kumar could be seen attacking Sagar Dhankar brutally. He has been in jail for the last 3 years and all the achievements of his on the sporting field have become secondary. Sushil Kumar had gotten into bad company as he was involved with gangsters who used him as a means to threaten other people.
