CWG gold medallist Amit Kumar's rise heralds India's wrestle mania

Amit Kumar won the gold medal in the 57 kg Freestyle at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, came home to adulation, award ceremonies, interviews and photo sessions. But at the end of each day - regardless of his schedule - he returned to the wrestling mat and practiced. His quest for perfection is unceasing and unending. Some might think he has earned the right to rest up, eat a few aloo parathas and gorge on sweets. But for the 20-year-old, who also won a silver at the World Championships in 2013, that thought simply doesn’t exist. “Practice kabhi khatam nahi hoti. Agar poora dinn award ceremonies hain to shaam ko time nikaal kar practice karni hi hai. Bina practice ke kaam nahi banega (Practice never ends. If there are award ceremonies all day, then I make it a point to keep some time in the evening for practice. Without practice, I won’t stand a chance),” Amit told Firstpost. “Starting main toh thoda time denge kyunki abhi Commonwealth Games se aayein hai but off time nahi hai hamare liye. (I am not training as much as usual but will slowly build it back up)” [caption id=“attachment_1655851” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  India’s Amit Kumar (top) throws South Africa’s Bokang Masunyane during the Men’s Freestyle 57 kg Wrestling quarter-finals at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Reuters[/caption] If you have ever had the chance to watch a wrestling competition, you realise just how gruelling it is. You fight bout after bout in quick succession - the competition, from the first round to the final - takes a day. At the CWG games, Bajrang – a medallist at the world level – lost to Canada’s David Tremblay, who was pushed up a category because he couldn’t make the weight to compete in a lower category. The bout was over in just one minute, 35 seconds. This is precisely the kind of thing that keeps Amit, mentored by JSW Sports Excellence Program, on his toes. In a sense, wrestling is all about how you feel on the day. If you aren’t perfect, you can be upset. If you take someone lightly, you can pay for it. If you slip up, it might be over. To prepare for this kind of grueling schedule – Amit usually trains for three hours a day; 5-6 practice bouts crammed into that time. Then he exercises – going to the gym every alternate day, lifting weights from time to time. It tough stuff but it helps that he totally loves the sport. Amit grew up wrestling the way most kids in India grow up playing cricket, starting when he was seven. “Pehle toh gaon main wrestling kiya karte the, mitti main, akhade main. Dost wahin reh gaye, main aage aa gaya. Ab toh sirf mat main wrestling. (I started wrestling in my village in akhadas with friends. But while they gave up wrestling, I moved on. Now, I only wrestle on the mat.)” India have a solid wrestling tradition but tradition has not always translated into medals. It just means something we have been doing for a long time. But Amit has seen things change. “When I first started wrestling, there were around 60-70 athletes at our centre. But now, there are around 200 and more keep pouring in. It has come to a point, where we have to turn around and tell them, ‘Bhaiya, jagah khatam ho gayi hai, agli baar try kar lena’ (There is no space left to accomodate you, please try again the next time).” It is a clear sign that wrestling is on the upswing. Out of the 14 wrestlers India sent to Glasgow for the CWG, 13 won medals. It is the kind of success rate that draws others to it. Everyone wants to be part of a winning team and in turn it means more options for the coaches. Sushil Kumar and Yogeshwar Dutt are world class but the emergence of young wrestlers like Amit, Bajrang, Satyvart and others means that the sport is in a good place. The introduction of new rules – like the passivity rule in which you have to score a point within 30 seconds or see one awarded to your opponent – has made the sport more exciting as well. The influx has also spurred Amit to keep improving. “Aapko pata hota hai ki neeche se koi aa raha hai. Toh woh darr accha hai. Aap humesha 100 percent hi denge. (If you know there is competition from the ranks below then you will " The success of India’s wrestlers is helping as is the fact that the Haryana government has rewarded them well. “In other states, you have the scene where you have to keep running around, filling form and then perhaps get paid after 3-4 years. But in Haryana, it is not the case. Just yesterday, I got an award of Rs.1 crore from the government. It makes one feel appreciated and that in itself is a triumph.” Next up for Amit is the Asian Games and with it, comes a very different challenge. “At the CWG, there was not too much competition at my weight level. But at the Asian Games, we will have the top wrestlers in my weight category. The wrestlers from Japan, Korea are quick. The ones from Iran have power. I will have to be at my best. “In some of the higher weight categories, there is not as much competition but in my weight category, some of the world’s best wrestlers are taking part at the Asiad. So it will be fun also.” Like any top level competitor, Amit wants to go up against the best. For instance, Amit will most likely also run into the man who beat him in the World Championships final last year – Iran’s Hassan Rahimi, who like Amit, relies on power and has above average speed. “Hum dono same type ki wrestling kartein hain. Usne mujhe World Championships main haraye magar maine bhi usse haraya hai. Ab record 1-1 hai. (We have the same style of wrestling. He defeated me at the World Championships but then I also defeated him. Our record stands at 1-1.)” The roughest road often leads to the top and Amit doesn’t seem to mind that at all – rather he seems to relish it.