B SHRIKANT

GOLDCOAST: India started the Commonwealth Games wrestling competition with a bang by winning four medals, two of them gold, with the spotlight firmly on two wrestlers, Sushil Kumar and Rahul Aware, who have had contrasting fortunes in the last decade.

While Sushil went on to win two Olympic medals, Aware was dismissed as someone lacking big-match temperament. On Thursday, while Sushil looked too good in his weight category, Aware’s determination to prove his detractors wrong was the driving force behind his success.

Though the competition at the Commonwealth Games in wrestling is nowhere compared to the Asian or world level, it was important for both Sushil and Aware to win for different reasons.

While Sushil need the medal to deflect attention from the various controversies surrounding him of late, Aware needed this success to motivate him for bigger challenges — and also the government largesse that comes with winning a CWG medal.

Aware (57kg) started the gold rush before Sushil outwitted his opponent to win the 74kg category — his third straight CWG gold.

In the women’s section, Babita Kumari settled for silver in 53kg, while Kiran earned the 76kg bronze. The medals swelled India’s Games kitty to 29 (14 gold, six silver and nine bronze). India are third in the rankings behind runaway leaders Australia and England.

STAR OF THE DAY

The star of the day was Sushil, the larger-than-life double Olympic medallist who had overcome injuries and controversies to be in Gold Coast. Sushil’s domination was summed up by the way he went about his business in the final bout against Johannes