Sushil, Aware toy with rivals, India clinch two gold on mat
RICH HAUL Sushil bags third straight CWG gold, Babita Kumari settles for silver in women’s 53kg
n Botha of South Africa.
The Indian, after the initial exchange of grips, went for his moves, bouncing Botha around at will. The South African, who said he was not overawed by the reputation of his opponent, seemed to have lost his bearings momentarily, forcing the referee to end the bout, with Sushil earning a 10-0 (technical superiority) win. It was a blink-and-you-miss bout that lasted just 80 seconds.
Sushil started the day with an 11-0 decimation of Jevan Balfour of Canada, winning by technical superiority. He didn’t waste time against his quarter-final opponent either — Muhammad Asad Butt of Pakistan. Sushil won again by technical superiority, scoring points from takedowns to close the bout 10-0 early in the sec- ond period.
He had a relatively less assertive outing against Australia’s Connor Evans in the semi-final, winning it 4-0.
Aware, the former Asian Championships bronze medallist, beat Steven Takahashi of Canada 15-7 to win gold in the 57kg category. The Indian used his experience to figure out the weakness in Takahashi’s armour — he was prone to single-leg takedowns, which also happens to be Aware’s bread-and-butter technique. The Indian, who hails from Beed district in Maharashtra, said he was happy to have ended a 10-year wait for a major medal.
Babita Kumari lost to Canada’s Diana Weicker to settle for silver in women’s 53kg. With just five wrestlers in the fray in