Olympics 2024: India’s Wrestling Icons - From Past Triumphs of KD Jadhav, Sushil Kumar to Paris Hopes From Vinesh Phogat, Aman Sehrawat

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The aura of mysticism associated with a rustic sport like wrestling has existed since times immemorial. From a traditional viewpoint, wrestling in India to old timers would convey images of mud-soaked men grappling each other in "akharas."

The "akharas" still exist, especially along the banks of the Yamuna river in New Delhi and many other rural areas in India. The paradigm shift, so to say, is wrestling becoming a sport on the mat, where more science has gone into it.

For this generation of sports junkies who would reel off names from WWE and MMA, two forms of sports which grab eyeballs, a name like KD Jadhav may not ring a bell. Indeed, when Jadhav won a historic bronze medal for India at the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, it was path-breaking. Those days, celebrations were muted, yet Jadhav was a big name, though one will not find too many photos of his and footage.

To say that KD Jadhav inspired a few generations is apt. Sadly, India needed to wait till the 2008 Olympics in Beijing for a certain Sushil Kumar to come along and once again show the world, India and wrestling were still in sync. Even for those who had watched the wrestling action from Beijing, live, on Doordarshan, Sushil had lost early.

Perhaps, that was the first time many Indians got to know of a system called 'repechage' which allowed Sushil to be back in the fray. When he won that medal for India in 2008 Beijing, it was after a 66-year gap. Sushil had made his Olympic debut in 2004 at the Athens Olympics and not done much wort note.

Yet, Beijing was his moment and the revival of wrestling in India. The number of media interviews Sushil did in Beijing and India were innumerable. Yet, images of a smiling young man, humble and reverential will be remembered.

The same Sushil's stock had risen when he entered the fray -- Olympic competition mat -- in 2012 at the London Olympics. In India, there is a tendency to hype the same athlete again and again, whatever be the sport. Sushil had prepared hard, with much of his efforts being put in at the Chhatrasal Stadium in the Capital.

Sushil had changed coaches as well, though, later, his father-in-law Mahabali Satpal became his coach. Sushil, a revered Hanuman bhakt, had married Satpal's daughter Savi. To say that Savi brought him luck in 2012 London would not be wrong, as Sushil, despite a gut issue, went on to win silver.

Sushil was the same modest hero. He never refused media interviews and even when told repeatedly to win two medals for India back-to-back at the Olympics was massive did not flatter him. It was this facet of Sushil which stays etched in memory.

The same grappler's tryst with destiny, a cruel twist that, happened before the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. Enough pages are available on Google to recapture the drama surrounding Sushil and disgraced Narsingh Yadav. Rio was a fiasco, in many ways, for Indian men's wrestling.

Back to the London Olympics, the narrative is incomplete without recalling the medal won by Yogeshwar Dutt, bronze in colour. He had not got the same publicity like Sushil, because of the shade of the medal. Yet, Yogeshwar's effort was monumental as he competed in the Sushil era, though in a different weight category.

Today, sadly, Sushil is remembered for the wrong reasons. He is lodged in Tihar Jail on murder charges. From a sporting point of view his fall from grace hurts one and all, but nothing can take away the glory he brought India at the Olympics. How and why Sushil fell in bad company is inexplicable, for Sushil was a humble champion.

Sakshi Malik breaking the stereotype

Once the fiasco at the Rio Olympics over the men on the mat dominated headlines in print and nascent digital media, it was left to a charming young girl from Haryana, Sakshi Malik to break the stereotype. Her bronze medal win was defining, no Indian woman had done this before in wrestling.

What stands out forever is the spirit of Sakshi. She may not have been the strongest in a physical sense in Rio, but mentally, she was a hard nut to crack. To win that bronze medal was grit personified and how she soaked in pressure like a sponge. For the entire Indian contingent present in Rio, including former Wrestling Federation of India President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, the medal from Sakshi was big.

For those who had fallen in love with wrestling after watching movie 'Dangal' where Aamir Khan played the lead role, Sakshi is the real- life heroine of Indian wrestling. She is an icon, a beacon of hope, and has set and example.

For all the lady wrestlers who will aim for glory in Paris 2024 Olympics, Sakshi is the role model. After all, Vinesh Phogat had also competed in Rio and her leg was broken. Vinesh failed in Tokyo as well, though, this time, she is in that frame of mind and shape where she will do anything to win a medal.

Wrestling is intense, passionate and emotional. Vinesh has fought many battles away from the mat, but that's a different story. The real story is how she takes on adversity headlong and grapples on the mat, as if her life depends on it. It is this ferocity which is needed to win a medal in Paris 2024, though there are more medal prospects as well, from wrestling.

A throwback to the last Olympics held during the dark days of the Covid pandemic in Tokyo three years ago can never be missed. Those were, indeed, a hard Olympics. Bio bubble, fighting a virus which had destroyed the world and restrictions of all sorts, competing in sports was not easy. Two men who came out with flying colours are Ravi Dahiya, who won silver and Bajrang Punia, bronze.

Ravi is almost a forgotten hero, his injury battles so sad. As for Bajrang, originally a disciple or "chela" of Yogeshwar Dutt, politicking has become his priority and not wrestling. To be shamed over failing to provide a urine sample for a dope test few months ago has further ruined him. Sports teaches humility and to be reverential to the discipline which brought the athlete glory.

PS: Never forget champions like Sushil and Bajrang but please do not indulge in any kind of madness which they did.