CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS BY AZIM ZAINUDIN
Apr 30, 2012
KUSHTI PHOTOS BY AZIM ZAINUDIN
"Kushti is India’s traditional wrestling on soil. This ancient sport used to hold great importance in Indian societies of the past, its popularity over the recent years however, has dwindled tremendously. At present Kushti is only practiced in a handful of pockets around India. Even in these places the future of the sport is uncertain. The government constantly pressures traditional Kushti schools to abandon ways of the past, embrace international wrestling standards and win medals at the Olympics."
CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS BY AZIM ZAINUDIN
CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS BY AZIM ZAINUDIN
Apr 29, 2012
SUSHIL KUMAR: KEEP OPPONENT GUESSING
By Abhishek Roy IANS
New Delhi, April 28 - India’s Beijing Games bronze medal-winning wrestler Sushil Kumar, who Friday booked his London berth, feels every fighter is on the lookout for an “element of surprise” in the fighting style as every wrestler is studying every other potential rival going through the tapes of bouts.
The 28-year-old Delhi wrestler, who won gold in the 66kg event in the World Qualifying Tournament in China, said his brief training stint at the US Olympic Center in Colorado Springs in January helped him a lot and he is ready for London.
“Every wrestler has to change his style and technique regularly. It helps to keep the opponent guessing. Change was badly needed. My opponents are watching my videos everyday and they can easily analyse my fighting technique. It is important to change style regularly. It was a tactical decision and I hope it will work at the Olympics,” Sushil told IANS in an interview, adding that he decided to change his style after he failed to defend his World Championship title last year.
Sushil tested his new style at the Dave Schultz Memorial International Wrestling Tournament in Colorado Springs, where he won the gold medal. But he struggled in the first Olympic qualifier at Astana last month.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF SUSHIL KUMAR AT DAVE SCHULTZ TOURNAMENT
Sushil, however, was in sublime form at the World Qualifier in China last week. He defeated Georgian Otar Tushishvilli, also a Beijing Games bronze medallist, in the final Friday to book his ticket to London.
Asked if it was the right thing to experiment a new style in the Olympic year, Sushil said: “It doesn’t matter. We had six months to prepare and that is enough.”
Sushil said he had worked hard on his closed stance.
“In fact, it is a mix of both closed and open stance. This is the latest trend in international wrestling and is followed by all the top wrestlers in Europe. I have also worked on my defence and counterattack. In fact I have worked hard on how to gain maximum points from counter-attack,” he said.
Sushil said he has also improved his ground wrestling skills.
“There has been a great improvement in my ground fighting skills. I have worked on off the ground (standing position) techniques,” Sushil told IANS.
Sushil said he has now adapted well to the new fighting style.
“I have adjusted to the new style well. I did well at the Dave Schultz event. But in the third round of the semi-final bout (against Kazakhstan’s Akzhurek Tanatarov) in the first Olympic qualifying bout I was not given a valid point. I saw the videos of the match and found that the referee erred in his decision which proved costly for me. But now things are working fine for me,” said Sushil.
Sushil said he was aware of the pressure of expectations since he remains India’s brightest medal prospect at the London Games.
“I am used to it. But frankly speaking there is no pressure on me,” he said.
Suhil said his Olympic bronze medal had changed the outlook of Indian wrestlers.
“Earlier for us winning a medal in the Olympics was enough. But now we aim only for gold. There has been a huge change in our mindset,” he said.
Sushil and boxer Vijender Singh, also a bronze medallists at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, came agonizingly close to missing the 2012 London Games but both eventually made it thumbing their nose at their critics.
First Vijender qualified grabbing the last opportunity after some suspense earlier in the month, and now Sushil got through to London after missing out in two qualification events earlier.
Both realise that thanks to technology the styles of fighting and techniques have taken the competition in their respective disciplines to higher levels and that they cannot be left behind their global opponents.
While Vijender made light of the pressure, saying he does not feel it, Sushil was worried about refereeing, having had a bitter experience in the earlier qualifiers. With Sushil’s qualification, all three Indian medal winners at Beijing — gold-medal winning shooter Abhinav Bindra being the other — are through to London.
Significantly, Vijender qualified for both the Beijing and London Games from the qualifying event at Astana, Kazakhastan, while Sushil failed there in an earlier qualifying event before making it in style by winning the gold medal at the Taiyuvan (China) qualifiers Friday.
New Delhi, April 28 - India’s Beijing Games bronze medal-winning wrestler Sushil Kumar, who Friday booked his London berth, feels every fighter is on the lookout for an “element of surprise” in the fighting style as every wrestler is studying every other potential rival going through the tapes of bouts.
The 28-year-old Delhi wrestler, who won gold in the 66kg event in the World Qualifying Tournament in China, said his brief training stint at the US Olympic Center in Colorado Springs in January helped him a lot and he is ready for London.
“Every wrestler has to change his style and technique regularly. It helps to keep the opponent guessing. Change was badly needed. My opponents are watching my videos everyday and they can easily analyse my fighting technique. It is important to change style regularly. It was a tactical decision and I hope it will work at the Olympics,” Sushil told IANS in an interview, adding that he decided to change his style after he failed to defend his World Championship title last year.
Sushil tested his new style at the Dave Schultz Memorial International Wrestling Tournament in Colorado Springs, where he won the gold medal. But he struggled in the first Olympic qualifier at Astana last month.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF SUSHIL KUMAR AT DAVE SCHULTZ TOURNAMENT
Sushil, however, was in sublime form at the World Qualifier in China last week. He defeated Georgian Otar Tushishvilli, also a Beijing Games bronze medallist, in the final Friday to book his ticket to London.
Asked if it was the right thing to experiment a new style in the Olympic year, Sushil said: “It doesn’t matter. We had six months to prepare and that is enough.”
Sushil said he had worked hard on his closed stance.
“In fact, it is a mix of both closed and open stance. This is the latest trend in international wrestling and is followed by all the top wrestlers in Europe. I have also worked on my defence and counterattack. In fact I have worked hard on how to gain maximum points from counter-attack,” he said.
Sushil said he has also improved his ground wrestling skills.
“There has been a great improvement in my ground fighting skills. I have worked on off the ground (standing position) techniques,” Sushil told IANS.
Sushil said he has now adapted well to the new fighting style.
“I have adjusted to the new style well. I did well at the Dave Schultz event. But in the third round of the semi-final bout (against Kazakhstan’s Akzhurek Tanatarov) in the first Olympic qualifying bout I was not given a valid point. I saw the videos of the match and found that the referee erred in his decision which proved costly for me. But now things are working fine for me,” said Sushil.
Sushil said he was aware of the pressure of expectations since he remains India’s brightest medal prospect at the London Games.
“I am used to it. But frankly speaking there is no pressure on me,” he said.
Suhil said his Olympic bronze medal had changed the outlook of Indian wrestlers.
“Earlier for us winning a medal in the Olympics was enough. But now we aim only for gold. There has been a huge change in our mindset,” he said.
Sushil and boxer Vijender Singh, also a bronze medallists at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, came agonizingly close to missing the 2012 London Games but both eventually made it thumbing their nose at their critics.
First Vijender qualified grabbing the last opportunity after some suspense earlier in the month, and now Sushil got through to London after missing out in two qualification events earlier.
Both realise that thanks to technology the styles of fighting and techniques have taken the competition in their respective disciplines to higher levels and that they cannot be left behind their global opponents.
While Vijender made light of the pressure, saying he does not feel it, Sushil was worried about refereeing, having had a bitter experience in the earlier qualifiers. With Sushil’s qualification, all three Indian medal winners at Beijing — gold-medal winning shooter Abhinav Bindra being the other — are through to London.
Significantly, Vijender qualified for both the Beijing and London Games from the qualifying event at Astana, Kazakhastan, while Sushil failed there in an earlier qualifying event before making it in style by winning the gold medal at the Taiyuvan (China) qualifiers Friday.
HARI RAM GRAND PRIX MASCOT UNVEILED
By Deepak Ansuia Prasad
प्रेस - विज्ञप्ति
नई दिल्ली : प्रथम हरिराम इंडियन ग्रां.- प्री. कुश्ती प्रतियोगिता 2012 के मस्कट का अनावरण श्री अरुण जेटली , अध्यक्ष डी.डी. सी. ए. द्वारा उनके निवास स्थान A -44, कैलाश कालोनी पर किया गया ! इस मौके पर आयोजन समीती के अध्यक्ष श्री अशोक अग्रवाल मौजूद रहे !
इस प्रतियोगिता में करीब 300 पुरुष एवं महिला पहलवान विभिन्न देशो से भाग लेंगे ! प्रथम हरिराम इंडियन ग्रां.- प्री. कुश्ती प्रतियोगिता 2012 , 25 मई से 27 मई 2012 को इंदिरा गाँधी इंडोर स्टेडियम में आयोजित की जायेंगी ! लगभग 17 देशों ने इस प्रतियोगिता हेतु अपनी स्वीकृति भारतीय कुश्ती संघ को भेज दी है ! इस प्रतियोगिता में कुश्ती के सर्वश्रेष्ठ देश जैसे की इरान , कज़ाकिस्तान , जार्जिया , अमेरिका , एशिया आदि देश भाग लेंगे !
आयोजन सस्मिती के अध्यक्ष श्री अशोक अगरवाल ने पत्रकारों को बताया की इस प्रतियोगिता का आयोजन प्रतिवर्ष भारत में किया जाएगा , ताकि भारतीय युवा पहलवान इस प्रतियोगिता का लाभ उठा कर अंतर्राष्ट्रीय स्तर पर भारत के लिए अधिकाधिक पदक जीतने में सफल हों !
इस प्रतियोगिता के प्रथम विजेता को $3000 अमेरिकन डालर , DVITEEY को $2000 अमेरिकन डालर , तथा दोनों तृतीय को $1000 अमेरिकेन डालर पुरस्कार स्वरुप दिए जायेंगे !यह प्रतियोगिता फिला के नियमो के आधार पर एवं उनकी निगरानी में होगी !
ENGLISH VERSION
It is a matter of great honour for the organizers that the “Moscat” of “1st Hari Ram Indian Wrestling, Grand Prix Tournament- 2012” is being unveiled by the Leader of the Opposition Sh. Arun Jaitley, President DDCA today i.e. 28th April 2012 at his residence A-44, Kailash Colony, New Delhi in the presence of Sh. Ashok Aggarwal, Chairman, Organizing Committee and Sh. Suresh Chopra, Vice President, DDCA.
Sh. Arun Jaitly on the occasion said that wrestling is a traditional game of India, it is not only popular in the cities but more popular in rural areas. Tournaments like this will encourage wrestling which will create better atmosphere for young wrestlers. I appreciate the efforts made by Mr. Ashok Aggarwal for hosting the Mega Tournament in India.
Sh. Ashok Aggarwal said that tournament of this level will benefit the Indian Wrestlers’ performance at International level. He also assured that this tournament will be organized on yearly basis.
The tournament will be organized jointly by the Organizing Committee of Hari Ram India Wrestling Grand Prix Tournament and Wrestling Federation of India [WFI] at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi from 25th to 27th May 2012. 22 Countries have already confirmed for their participation in the above tournament in which major countries are USA, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhastan, Mongolia, Iran and Belarus etc.
Attractive Prize Money is on offer for the winners in each weight category:
Gold Medal Winner : US $ 3000
Silver Medal Winner : US $ 2000
Bronze Medal Winner : US $ 1000
Bronze Medal Winner : US $ 1000
The Competition will be conducted strictly as per FILA rules & regulations.
[Ashok Aggarwal]
Chairman
Organizing Committee
1st Hari Ram Indian Wrestling Grand Prix Tournament- 2012
प्रेस - विज्ञप्ति
नई दिल्ली : प्रथम हरिराम इंडियन ग्रां.- प्री. कुश्ती प्रतियोगिता 2012 के मस्कट का अनावरण श्री अरुण जेटली , अध्यक्ष डी.डी. सी. ए. द्वारा उनके निवास स्थान A -44, कैलाश कालोनी पर किया गया ! इस मौके पर आयोजन समीती के अध्यक्ष श्री अशोक अग्रवाल मौजूद रहे !
इस प्रतियोगिता में करीब 300 पुरुष एवं महिला पहलवान विभिन्न देशो से भाग लेंगे ! प्रथम हरिराम इंडियन ग्रां.- प्री. कुश्ती प्रतियोगिता 2012 , 25 मई से 27 मई 2012 को इंदिरा गाँधी इंडोर स्टेडियम में आयोजित की जायेंगी ! लगभग 17 देशों ने इस प्रतियोगिता हेतु अपनी स्वीकृति भारतीय कुश्ती संघ को भेज दी है ! इस प्रतियोगिता में कुश्ती के सर्वश्रेष्ठ देश जैसे की इरान , कज़ाकिस्तान , जार्जिया , अमेरिका , एशिया आदि देश भाग लेंगे !
आयोजन सस्मिती के अध्यक्ष श्री अशोक अगरवाल ने पत्रकारों को बताया की इस प्रतियोगिता का आयोजन प्रतिवर्ष भारत में किया जाएगा , ताकि भारतीय युवा पहलवान इस प्रतियोगिता का लाभ उठा कर अंतर्राष्ट्रीय स्तर पर भारत के लिए अधिकाधिक पदक जीतने में सफल हों !
इस प्रतियोगिता के प्रथम विजेता को $3000 अमेरिकन डालर , DVITEEY को $2000 अमेरिकन डालर , तथा दोनों तृतीय को $1000 अमेरिकेन डालर पुरस्कार स्वरुप दिए जायेंगे !यह प्रतियोगिता फिला के नियमो के आधार पर एवं उनकी निगरानी में होगी !
ENGLISH VERSION
It is a matter of great honour for the organizers that the “Moscat” of “1st Hari Ram Indian Wrestling, Grand Prix Tournament- 2012” is being unveiled by the Leader of the Opposition Sh. Arun Jaitley, President DDCA today i.e. 28th April 2012 at his residence A-44, Kailash Colony, New Delhi in the presence of Sh. Ashok Aggarwal, Chairman, Organizing Committee and Sh. Suresh Chopra, Vice President, DDCA.
Sh. Arun Jaitly on the occasion said that wrestling is a traditional game of India, it is not only popular in the cities but more popular in rural areas. Tournaments like this will encourage wrestling which will create better atmosphere for young wrestlers. I appreciate the efforts made by Mr. Ashok Aggarwal for hosting the Mega Tournament in India.
Sh. Ashok Aggarwal said that tournament of this level will benefit the Indian Wrestlers’ performance at International level. He also assured that this tournament will be organized on yearly basis.
The tournament will be organized jointly by the Organizing Committee of Hari Ram India Wrestling Grand Prix Tournament and Wrestling Federation of India [WFI] at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi from 25th to 27th May 2012. 22 Countries have already confirmed for their participation in the above tournament in which major countries are USA, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhastan, Mongolia, Iran and Belarus etc.
Attractive Prize Money is on offer for the winners in each weight category:
Gold Medal Winner : US $ 3000
Silver Medal Winner : US $ 2000
Bronze Medal Winner : US $ 1000
Bronze Medal Winner : US $ 1000
The Competition will be conducted strictly as per FILA rules & regulations.
[Ashok Aggarwal]
Chairman
Organizing Committee
1st Hari Ram Indian Wrestling Grand Prix Tournament- 2012
Apr 28, 2012
SUSHIL KUMAR QUALIFIES FOR OLYMPICS
TIMES OF INDIA
NEW DELHI: Former world champion and Beijing Olympics bronze medalist wrestler, Sushil Kumar finally managed to seal his London Olympics berth after winning the 66kg freestyle title at the World Qualifying Tournament in Taiyuan, China today.
Sushil defeated Georgia's Otar Tushishvilli 3-0 in the final to qualify for the London Games in a thumping fashion.
Sushil had already booked his ticket to London before the title clash when he defeated Andriy Kvyatkovskyy of Ukraine 3-1 in the semi-final.
The grappler from Haryana, got a bye in his opening bout before making short work of Radley Umang of Palau in the second round.
Sushil then went on to beat Australia's Jayden Alexander Lawrence in the next round to set a semi-final clash against Kvyatkovskyy.
Sushil had qualified for the London Olympics in his third attempt.
Sushil wasted his first chance after failing to defend his world championship title and then lost in the second round of the Asian Olympic Qualifiers held in Astana, Kazakhstan March 30 to April 1 to make it two failures in a row before finally striking form.
It was, however, curtains for other Indian wrestlers in the freestyle category.
Mausam Khatri (96kg) had a chance to book a ticket to the London Games through repechage round, but the Indian let the opportunity slip away as he lost to Poland's Radoslaw Baran.
The grappler got a bye in the first match before losing 0-3 to Magomed Musaev of Kazakhstan, who defeated Korea's Jae-Sung Kim in the semifinal to set a title clash against Khetag Gazyumov of Azerbaijan.
In the 74Kg category, Narsingh Pancham Yadav showed some promise by pipping Slovakian Robert Olle, but the Indian failed to sustain the momentum as he lost to Bator Bazarov of Kazakhstan in his next bout.
Pawan Kumar (84Kg) also made a good start to his campaign beating Kazakhstan's Aibekin Usupov in the first match before losing to Gheorghita Stefan of Romania.
The qualification for the 120kg category in the free-style event will be held tomorrow.
THE HINDU
Former world champion and Beijing bronze medallist Sushil Kumar on Friday won the 66kg gold medal in the World qualifying wrestling tournament in Taiyuan, China, to make the cut for the London Olympics.
Sushil became the fourth Indian wrestler to book a berth for the London Games. This will be Sushil's third straight appearance in the Olympics.
Earlier, three Indian wrestlers, Amit Kumar (55kg) and Yogeshwar Dutt (60kg) in freestyle and Geeta (55kg) in women's section, had made the Olympics from the Astana event.
It was a big of relief for Sushil, who had been going through a lean patch for quite some time. The Delhi–based grappler, who received a first round bye, outsmarted Radley Umang of Palau by fall, got the better of Australian Jayden Lawrence 3-0, 2-0 and beat Andriy Kvyatkovskyy of Ukraine 1-0, 2-1 to ensure his place in the London Games. In the final, he defeated Georgian Otar Tushishvili 2-0, 1-0 to claim the gold.
Meanwhile, other top Indian freestyle wrestlers in contention for Olympic slots did not succeed in their mission. Narsingh Yadav (74kg), Pawan Kumar (84kg) and Mausam Khatri (96kg) lost early. Khatri, who lost to eventual champion Magomed Musaev of Kyrgyzstan, had a chance to clinch the third Olympic spot in his weight. However, he failed in the repechage round.
HINDUSTAN TIMES
Everyone expected Beijing Olympic Games bronze medallist Sushil Kumar to defend his title at the 2011 World Championship. But after the grappler crashed out in the first round and then failed to qualify for the London Olympics at the Asian qualification event last month, critics put the blame for
the defeats on his marriage.
On Friday, after making it to his third successive Olympics, the wrestler made his critics eat humble pie.
"Wrestling has always been my priority, and I have never lost focus," said Sushil after sealing an Olympic berth at the ongoing qualifiers in China. "The morning after I won bronze in Beijing, I had a training session as I had to compete against a Pakistani wrestler in a domestic tournament in India. Even when I was attending numerous functions after winning the Olympic medal, I made sure that I took time out for my training schedule. So, nobody can doubt my commitment to the sport," said Sushil.
Before creating history by winning the world title in 2010, Sushil had overshot his weight limit (66kg) at the Asian Championship and had to face criticism. "No player takes the field with the aim to lose," said Sushil. "Bad phases are part and parcel of a player's life, so it's not a big deal."
Sushil booked his ticket to London after defeating Ukraine's Andriy Kvyatkovskyy 3-1 in the semifinal. He went on to win the title by outclassing Georgia's Otar Tushishvilli 3-0. Both finalists got quota places.
With Sushil making it to London, all three Indians, who won medals in Beijing, will be looking for an encore. Shooter Abhinav Bindra and boxer Vijender Singh booked their berths earlier.
"I was hoping to qualify for the Olympics at the earlier tournament, but couldn't due to a shoulder injury. Before going to China, I was confident of making it. Now that I've done it, my focus will be on the Games. If all goes well, I will better by Beijing performance," said Sushil.
60th All India Police Games, Hosted by CISF
By Deepak Ansuia Prasad
The 60th All India Police Games were organized recently at K.D. Jadhav Wrestling Stadium, Indira Gandhi Stadium Complex, New Delhi.
A great veteran wrestler of Indian kushti Hind Kesari Bhagat Singh invited me to cover the competition.
He along with Hind Kesari Jagdish Kaliraman were participating in the competition as manager of his team from Uttar Pradesh Police. I have to thank him a lot for his invitation.
The Home Minister of India inaugurated the game and the games were organized by CISF. The prizes for the winners were distributed by top CISF officials.
Renowned wrestlers like Yudhveer, Surender Naad, Parvinder Doomchedi, Sonu, etc. won medals. Due to some personnel reasons I could not go to cover the entire event, but I can give a glimpse of what it was like.
The team of Uttar Pradesh police had many good wrestlers. They all cleared the qualifying matches however few were went to finals. The team was able to secure bronze medals in 55kg, 60kg, and 74 kgs by Ramniwas, Sonu and Pramod, respectively.
Bharat Kesari Sonu Pahalwan won the gold medal. CRPF team won the most medals in freestyle and in greco-roman.
The 60th All India Police Games were organized recently at K.D. Jadhav Wrestling Stadium, Indira Gandhi Stadium Complex, New Delhi.
A great veteran wrestler of Indian kushti Hind Kesari Bhagat Singh invited me to cover the competition.
He along with Hind Kesari Jagdish Kaliraman were participating in the competition as manager of his team from Uttar Pradesh Police. I have to thank him a lot for his invitation.
The Home Minister of India inaugurated the game and the games were organized by CISF. The prizes for the winners were distributed by top CISF officials.
Renowned wrestlers like Yudhveer, Surender Naad, Parvinder Doomchedi, Sonu, etc. won medals. Due to some personnel reasons I could not go to cover the entire event, but I can give a glimpse of what it was like.
The team of Uttar Pradesh police had many good wrestlers. They all cleared the qualifying matches however few were went to finals. The team was able to secure bronze medals in 55kg, 60kg, and 74 kgs by Ramniwas, Sonu and Pramod, respectively.
Bharat Kesari Sonu Pahalwan won the gold medal. CRPF team won the most medals in freestyle and in greco-roman.
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