Down for the Count: Wrestling Champ Sushil Kumar out of Asian Games
Fighting discomfort during the World Championship and Commonwealth games (CWG), India’s wrestling management team decided not to take any chances by pulling their star, Sushil Kumar, from the upcoming Asian games taking place from November 12-27.
Troubled by injuries to his neck and shoulder for the last six months, Kumar issued the following statement: “The Wrestling Federation (WFI) and my coaches asked me to take rest because if the injury flares up, it will affect my preparation for the London
Olympics in 2012.”
While the damage is expected to heal in 15 to 20 days, Kumar also complained about experiencing numbness in his fingers during training. Coupled with pain in his neck, these symptoms point to a potentially career-ending injury in his spine.
Such a loss would be devastating to the wrestling world. Winning gold medals at the 205 and 2007 Commonwealth Championships, Kumar threw a proverbial wrench into the works when he came back from early defeats to win the bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Awarded in 2009 with the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna – India’s highest honour for a sportsman, in September 2010, Kumar made history as the first Indian to win a gold medal at FILA 2010 Championships in Moscow.
Finally, despite competing in the Delhi’s Commonwealth Games with his right shoulder taped and bound, Kumar managed to pin down a gold medal for his country.
However India’s team physiotherapist, Arvinder Pal Singh, was quick to dispel any speculation regarding the severity of Kumar’s injuries: “It is due to over-exertion. We had done tests including MRI scans and Sushil has a muscular strain on the neck and
shoulders.”
After taking part in three back-to-back tournaments (the Asian Championships, World Championships, and the CWG), it’s not a far stretch to assume India’s Goliath might need a little rest and recuperation. Recognizing the strain of such rigorous competing,
Singh echoed the sentiment of the rest of Kumar’s management team: “We don’t want to take chances any more. Sushil had pain during the bouts at the CWG and he also complained about knee pain. So we decided to give him rest and let him recover fully from the
small niggles and prevent it from becoming big."
As Sushil gears up for London in 2012, Pardeep Kumar, who is ranked as India’s No. 2 in the 66kg category, will replace the champ in Guangzhou.
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