Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed the petition of two-time Olympic medallist wrestler Sushil Kumar seeking directions to Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) to hold selection trials to decide who will represent India in the 74 Kg freestyle category at the Rio Olympics.
“All I am asking for is a trial for Rio Games” — the plea by the two-time Olympic Gold medallist Sushil Kumar was on Monday rejected by the Delhi High Court, which said his argument made for “an interesting sound-bite” but was legally untenable, says a report in The Hindu.
“In the international arena of sports, medals are won not only by ‘brawl’ but also by ‘brain’. The last-minute challenge can disturb the mental preparation of the selected... A sportsperson innocently asking for ‘just a trial’ may be jeopardising the chances of the selected candidate to win, having disastrous consequences for national interest,” a Bench said.
“In the duel asked for, the country will be the loser,” said a bench of Justice Manmohan while dismissing Sushil Kumar's plea for selection trial with Narsingh Yadav for representing India in the 74kg freestyle category at the Rio Olympics. The court did not lose sight of the high probability of injury if a trial is ordered now with just two months to go for the Olympics, says the Hindu report.
Meanwhile a report in the Indian Express said Sushil, who went incommunicado after Monday’s verdict, too will continue his ‘preparations for Rio’ in Delhi. “We still believe there is a chance for Sushil to go to Rio. After all, he has the best chance to win the gold medal for India,” Satpal said.In reality, though, his chances look bleak. The question rather is, will Sushil have the motivation to continue after this setback? After years of training (even though WFI won’t admit) and then suddenly being told he isn’t in the scheme of things?
“The Indian team for the World Cup in USA will leave later this week. The team comprises Olympic backups in every category and Sushil — who the WFI contended is a backup for Narsingh and hence crores were spent on his training — wasn’t even considered for it,” says the Indian Express report. WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh said what Sushil does with his future is something that the WFI can’t decide. “It’s up to him, what he wants to do. As the federation, we will give him equal opportunities as the others,” he said.
