Born on May 26, 1983, Sushil Kumar Solanki is a former wrestler from India who has won two medals in the Olympics. His 2008 wrestling Olympic medal was just India’s second and its first since 1952 Summer Olympics bronze medallist Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav. The highest award for athletes in India, the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna, was given to him in July 2009.
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Kumar gave Prince Charles the Queen’s Baton during the Queen’s Baton Relay at the 2010 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony on October 3, 2010. During the 2012 London Olympic opening ceremony, he carried the Indian flag. In the 74 kg category, Sushil took home the gold medal from the 2014 Commonwealth Games. In the 74 kg category, Sushil took home the gold medal from the 2018 Commonwealth Games. The World Wrestling Championship gold medallist is the only Indian to have achieved this feat.
Sushil Kumar Career
At the age of 14, Kumar began training in pehlwani at the akhada of the Chhatrasal Stadium. He received training from Yashvir and Ramphal at the akhada, Satpal, the recipient of the Arjuna Award, later at the Indian Railways camp from Gyan Singh and Rajkumar Baisla Gurjar.
Following his conversion to freestyle wrestling, Kumar’s first triumph came in his weight class at the 1998 World Cadet Games, when he took home the gold medal. Two years later, in 2000, he repeated the feat at the Asian Junior Wrestling Championship. After leaving the junior ranks, Kumar placed third in the Asian Wrestling Championships and first at the Commonwealth Wrestling Championships in 2003. When Kumar performed poorly in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, ranking 14th in the 60 kg weight class, the Indian media paid little attention to his fourth-place finish at the 2003 World Championships.
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In the 2005 and 2007 Commonwealth Wrestling Championships, he took home gold medals. He won a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and finished eighth in the 2007 World Championships. He became the first individual to win two Olympic medals for independent India when he took home a silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics. In 2006, Kumar received the Arjuna Award, and in 2011, the Indian government bestowed upon him the much-coveted Padma Shree.
Beijing Olympics 2008
In the 66 kg freestyle wrestling competition, Kumar was defeated by Andriy Stadnik in the opening round, hence his chances of winning a medal depended on the rematch. In the first round of the rematch, he triumphed against Doug Schwab, and in the second, over Albert Batyrov. On August 20, 2008, Kumar defeated Leonid Spiridonov 3:1 to win the bronze medal. When Kumar won three bouts in a row to capture the bronze, he revealed that he had no masseuse during that time. He was massaged by team manager and former Asian Games champion Kartar Singh.
Moscow hosted the 2010 World Wrestling Championships
Kumar became the first Indian to win a world title in wrestling in the 2010 World Wrestling Championships. In the 66 kg category final, he defeated the Russian favourite Alan Gogaev 3-1.
Delhi, India, 2010 Commonwealth Games
On October 10, 2010, Kumar earned a gold medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, which were held in Delhi. In the 66 kg freestyle wrestling final, he defeated Heinrich Barnes 6-0. In the second round, the referee stopped the fight. Earlier, in the semifinals, Kumar won in nine seconds, defeating Famara Jarjou 3-0. Kumar defeated Muhammad Salman, a Pakistani opponent, 10–0 in 46 seconds in the quarterfinals.
2012 London Olympics
After falling against Tatsuhiro Yonemitsu in the final, Kumar was awarded a silver medal. Previously, he had defeated Akzhurek Tanatarov of Kazakhstan in the semifinals to advance to the championship match despite some controversy. The athlete from Kazakhstan asserted that Kumar had bit his ear, an accusation that Kumar refuted. Kumar carried the Indian Olympic flag during the opening ceremony. With this victory, he became the first Indian after India’s independence to win two individual Olympic medals.
Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games
At the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, Kumar won the gold medal by defeating Qamar Abbas in the 74 kg final. By fall, he won in 107 seconds.
2018 Commonwealth Games, Australia’s Gold Coast
On Thursday, April 12, 2018, Kumar won the gold medal in the 74 kg category. He did this by defeating Johannes Botha of South Africa in an 80-second final, making history by winning three gold medals in three straight Commonwealth Games.
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