Sushil camp beats up rival’s brother
NEWDELHI: India’s double Olympic-medallist Sushil Kumar is again in the news. The London 2012 and Beijing 2008 wrestling medallist plunged into controversy on Friday after his supporters indulged in a brawl with those of rival competitor Parveen Rana.
The clash happened at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi during the trials for the 2018 Commonwealth Games, to be held in Gold Coast, Australia and the Asian Championships in Kazakhstan.
It was free-for-all on Friday afternoon, soon after Sushil Kumar defeated main contender Rana 7-2 in a 74kg class bout. Though Sushil, recently crowned national champion who beat Rana in the Commonwealth Championships in South Africa this month, won the trials, his supporters vented their ire on Rana’s supporters.
Soon after the bout, a group of over 40 people entered the warm-up hall, adjacent to the main wrestling arena, and beat up Rana’s group, targetting his brother Naveen. He was left helpless by the sheer number of people who attacked him. Once he fell, the group left the venue.
Sushil Kumar’s supporters were reportedly annoyed with Parveen, alleging that he tried to bite Sushil on his hand during the bout. This reporter saw Sushil’s supporters gesturing, calling Parveen ‘cheat’ even as the bout was on.
WFI CHIEF ‘UNAWARE’
Wrestling Federation of India president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh who was present at the trials said he heard about the ruckus, but didn’t receive any complaint. “Someone told me Parveen’s brother got hurt. But nothing happened inside the playing area. If someone got beaten up outside, police will deal with it,” he said.
Sushil Kumar said he was in another room and had no idea who were involved. “None of my friends or supporters were involved in the brawl,” he said, adding that such things shouldn’t happen in sporting events. Fearing a backlash, his supporters escorted him from the venue in a car.
Rana and Sushil both represent Railways. The former gave his senior a walkover at the Indore nationals in November, where Sushil made a competitive return after almost three years.
Rana told Hindustan Times that Naveen needed many stitches to his cut on his head, but an FIR was yet to be lodged.