Visa glitch for Sushil Kumar, to miss out on a few precious days of practice in Belarus

At a time when Olympic-bound athletes are making every effort to get into top shape through rigorous training, a visa glitch has forced India's flag-bearer Sushil Kumar to miss out on a few precious days of practice and tweak his schedule. However' if the Beijing Olympics bronze medalist is to be believed' the change has done him more good than harm, says a report in The Times Of India.

"The training is going very good. We are having three sessions a day. And the fact that I am training alone, coach saab is giving special attention to my moves. It would have been difficult for me given the amount of travelling I would have done as per the original schedule," the Baprola grappler told TOI on Tuesday.

Meanwhile a report in The DNA says that wrestler Sushil Kumar, India’s flag-bearer at the 2012 Olympics, has been forced to train alone in India for four days as he only has a single-entry visa for Belarus where he was supposed to fly with his teammates. Kumar got to know about the development after returning from Colorado Springs in the US where he was training for the Games.

With no other alternative, Kumar decided to stay back in Delhi and train under the watchful eye of coach Yashvir Singh. His teammates left for Belarus on Sunday. Wrestling Federation of India secretary Raj Singh told DNA the initial plan was to send all five wrestlers to Belarus. “But Sushil was not granted a multiple-entry visa by the Belarus embassy. So, he will first go to London and then join his teammates in Belarus for training. He will hopefully join them after the opening ceremony,” he said.

A report in Deccan Herald says that Satpal Singh won numerous accolades on the domestic and international stage but an Olympic medal remained a dream, however, years later, his pupil Sushil Kumar fulfilled that dream by winning a bronze in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

“I am lucky to see one of my students winning an Olympic medal. I always wanted to win an Olympic gold but could not. Sushil fulfilled my dream to some extent but I hope that this time at least one of them returns with a gold,” he said.

Satpal can hope for more from the wrestling contingent at London. The five-member team, including a woman grappler, promises a bigger medal haul than Beijing.