Rio is two years away, but Sushil Kumar is already dreaming of making it a hat-trick of medals at the Olympic Games.
The champion wrestler, who won a bronze in Beijing in 2008 and a silver in London in 2012, believes he can make it a three-in-a-row.
“I have already begun preparing for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics and leaving for training in the United States early next month,” Sushil told The Hindu here on Monday.
“I will train along with other Indian wrestlers at the SPIRE indoor sports complex in Ohio; it is a world class centre and the experience there will stand me in good stead for future competitions, including the world championship.”
The 31-year-old was in the city on his way to Kannur, where he will be the chief guest of the Kerala State wrestling championship starting on Tuesday.
Potential“I want to visit as many places in India as possible to make wrestling even more popular,” he said. “I think we have the potential to do even better in international wrestling. Yogeshwar Dutt was brilliant at the Asian Games, I thought. Winning the gold was a great effort.”
Sushil had skipped Incheon, but India still came back with five medals. “I did not participate because I wanted to give a chance to our younger rivals,” he said.
“I was happy to see our women wrestlers doing well. Vinesh Phogat (who won the bronze in the 48 kg category) looks very promising.”
Sushil feels the Indian sporting scenario looks promising these days. “It is heartening to see the success of the ProKabaddi League and the Indian Super League (ISL),” he said. “I think the kabaddi league was an excellent preparation for our team at the Asian Games.”
He said he was glad to see supporters turning up in large numbers to watch the ISL across the country.
“I wanted to watch the match in Delhi, but I could not because of my training schedule,” he said.
“I think football, a sport that is for the common man and not just the elite, should become a major game in the country. We have to focus hard on Olympic disciplines.”
