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Sushil Kumar Vs Parveen Rana: How A Mentor & His Disciple Became Bitter Rivals


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One of the highly popular and most decorated wrestlers in the country, Sushil Kumar became the face of Indian wrestling when he bagged a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Two years later, he became the first Indian to win a world title in wrestling after his triumphant campaign at the World Wrestling Championships.

But, it was arguably the 2012 London Olympics that truly established Sushil as the undisputed champion in Indian wrestling. Improving on his Olympic stint in 2008, Sushil clinched a silver medal after losing the final bout to Japan's Tatsuhiro Yonemitsu. In the process, Sushil became the first individual to win two Olympic medals for independent India.

However, just when his fans and India's wrestling fraternity expected him to scale new heights, the Delhi wrestler faltered and since then, has struggled to regain his form and place. The 34-year-old did win a gold medal at this year's Commonwealth Wrestling Championships, but the last three years have been pretty frustrating for the iconic wrestler.

Sushil KumarTwitter

A nasty shoulder injury kept him out of action for three years. When he did recover, Sushil was forced to sit out of the Rio Olympics after being denied a trial by the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) amid allegations that he spiked the drinks of his fellow wrestler who had qualified for the coveted tournament in his weight division.

In November this year, Sushil finally had a reason to cheer for after being crowned as the new national champion in the 74-kg category. But, what looked like a great comeback for India's forgotten wrestler, was more of a political victory rather than a statement on the mat.

Surprisingly, Sushil had qualified to represent his employers - Railways Sports Promotion Board - for the Nationals without fighting a single man as he was handed walkovers by his opponents. After the trials, the procession of walkovers continued at the Nationals where his opponents from the quarterfinals till the gold-medal round chose not to fight him out of respect.

Sushil KumarTwitter

It wasn't Sushil's fault that he literally walked his way to win the Nationals. But, for his own confidence and to the sheer pleasure of his detractors, his controversial triumph robbed him a chance of staking his claim on the medal in a way that he deserved and wanted.

On Friday, Sushil gave his fans something to cheer for after qualifying for the 2018 Commonwealth Games. But, even there, his victory in qualification rounds was marred by a massive brawl between his supporters and bitter rival Parveen Rana who was once his disciple.

As soon their bout ended, the supporters from both the Kumar and Rana camp got into a fistfight. Rana also lodged an FIR with the Delhi Police against the two-time Olympic medallist and five of his supporters after the brawl that left his brother with head injuries.

#WATCH: Scuffle broke out between alleged supporters of wrestlers Sushil Kumar and Parveen Rana at K. D. Jadhav Stadium in Delhi; reason not yet ascertained pic.twitter.com/sigLOa3koY

— ANI (@ANI) December 29, 2017

It is believed that Sushil's camp was upset with Rana after he bit the popular wrestler during their bout in the semifinals. "He (Rana) bit me but no problem, it might be his tactics to stop me from performing well. All this is a part of sports," Sushil told reporters.

I played a good bout yesterday (against Sushil Kumar), but there was a lot of cheating there...I was made to lose. Waiting for my next fight now, will perform better than the previous one: Wrestler Parveen Rana pic.twitter.com/UM4F3fX2qo

— ANI (@ANI) December 30, 2017

On the other hand, Rana claimed that he was targetted alongside his brother by Sushil's supporters for "daring to take the ring" against the decorated wrestler. "I could only recognise five people and I named them in the report along with Sushil. I was the main target, but I grappled out of their clutches in time and entered the main competition hall,” he said.

It is worth noting here that Rana, who was sent to represent India in the Rio Olympics after Narsingh Yadav failed the dope test, is a product of Sushil's alma mater, the Chhatrasal Stadium akhada in Delhi. Rana was mentored by Sushil Kumar, who is 10 years his senior, at the iconic training ground.

Final selection trial for upcoming #Commonwealthgames Jai Hind ð®ð³ pic.twitter.com/MfOYnNB2fO

— Sushil Kumar (@WrestlerSushil) December 29, 2017

However, the duo parted ways last year after Rana decided to shift his base to Rohtak to train with Satyavarth Kadian - the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games silver medallist. “I felt I should come out of Sushil's shadow. So I decided to move out,” Rana told Hindustan Times.

In fact, Rana, out of respect, had given a walkover to the more popular wrestler at the Nationals in Indore last month. More recently, he lost his semifinal bout at the Commonwealth Wrestling Championships to Sushil who went on to win the gold medal in Johannesburg.

Parveen RanaTwitter

Rana, on 29 December, had also alleged that Sushil's supporters also gave death threats to him and dared him to participate in the much-anticipated Pro Wrestling League (PWL) slated to begin in January. While Rana will present newly-launched franchise Vir Maratha, Sushil - who was the most expensive wrestler at the auctions - will play for Delhi Sultans, who shelled out Rs 55 lakh to secure his services.

“The incident (brawl) has made me mentally stronger. I hope to perform better in my future bouts,” Rana said about his face-off with Sushil in the PWL. With age catching up on Sushil and Narsingh Yadav serving a doping ban, Rana is an obvious choice for India in the 74-kg category and a direct threat to his old mentor who is trying to reclaim the lost glory.

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