Sushil Kumar Wins Bronze for India at the 2008 Beijing Olympics

Sushil Kumar's Bronze Medal Journey

Sushil Kumar's Olympic bronze medal may have come as a pleasant surprise but the Delhi wrestler says that he did not emerge out of the blue and walk away with the glory.

Down in the dumps after his opening round defeat, Sushil came up with an incredible show, beating Doug Schwab of USA (He won the fight 3:1), Albert Batyrov of Belarus (He won the bout 3:1) and finally the losing to semifinalist Leonid Spiridonov of Kazakhstan in the repechage rounds to earn his slice of history.
In the third round, he defeated semifinalist Leonid Spiridonov of Kazakhstan.

It was a closely fought encounter that lasted 17:22 minutes. In the first period, Sushil took two points while Spiridonov gained one. In the second period none of the grappler could score. While in the last period, Sushil picked one point and won the battle for bronze.

The Rewards for Olympic Bronze Winner Sushil Kumar Floods in...

Cash awards to the tune of Rs.16.5 million (Ras. 1.65 crores) have flowed in for India’s latest sporting icon Sushil Kumar.

It was first the turn of Delhi chief minister Sheila Dixit to announce a cash award of Rs.5 million (Rs. 50 lakh) and she was followed by Union Sports Minister M.S. Gill who announced Rs. 2 million (Rs. 20 lakh) for the Steel Authority of India (SAIL) employee.

‘It is a great achievement by Sushil. He is the new icon for Delhi and I will give him a cash award of Rs.5 million. His coach Satpal will also get promotion,’ Dixit told a TV channel.

Ram Vilas Paswan, minister of chemicals, fertilizers and steel, came up with Rs.1.5 million (Rs.10.5 lakh) award for Sushil. Not to be left behind, Railways minister Lalu Prasad announced Rs.5.5 million (Rs. 50.5 lakh) and the Haryana Government Rs.2.5 million (Rs. 20.5 lakh).

Sushil’s bronze comes after 56-years when wrestler Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav gave India its first ever individual Olympic medal. Jadhaav also won the bronze in the Freestyle Bantamweight class in the 1952 Helsinki Games.

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