Dear Wrestlers, Please Don’t Give Walkovers To “Respect” Champions

Last Friday, two-time Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar made a much awaited comeback to the wrestling mat. In his first tournament since 2014, Kumar stormed to victory at the National Wrestling Championship, with five wins in five matches. And he did all of that by spending just two minutes and 33 seconds on the mat.

Amazing, right?

Except, there’s a small catch.

He didn’t really have to work hard, or work at all, to win the quarter-final, semi-final and final.

That’s right. In three of those matches, Sushil Kumar’s opponents gave him a walkover. Why, you ask?

Tradition, it seems. Like the announcer at the stadium explained after the semi-final walkover,

Yeh hai Bharat ki kushti ki parampara.

Whom Does This Tradition Help Exactly?

If you want a short answer, here it is – “Nobody.”

Conceding a bout against a champion wrestler “out of respect” isn’t a new concept. And it isn’t always just about respect either.

When two wrestlers from the same state clash, the senior is often given a walkover by the junior. And especially since wrestlers compete several bouts in a single day, this allows the senior athlete, expected to go further in the competition, to get some rest.

But think about it. At the recently concluded National Wrestling Championship, Sushil Kumar was representing the Railways. Praveen, who conceded the quarter-final, was representing Haryana, and Sachin Rathi, who conceded the semi-final, is from Uttar Pradesh. So they weren’t even from the same team or state.

Then why not fight and let the best man win?

Dear wrestlers, if you’re so sure that Sushil Kumar is a champion who deserves to win the Nationals, he’ll win regardless of your sympathy and respect, right? He should win by defeating you on the mat, not by getting a walkover from you.

Why reduce the National Wrestling Championship to a joke? It’s no fun for the viewers, it’s no incentive for the juniors, and it hardly does any good to the champion himself.

Time to Think Ahead?

Sushil Kumar is 34-years-old. At the most, he's got just a few years of competitive wrestling left in him. What after that? What happens when he retires? What if the Sushil Kumars of the future are waiting in the wings, but conceding their matches out of respect?

The Nationals should be a place which showcases the very best of India’s wrestling talent. It shouldn’t be a giant no-show in the name of respect. There are young careers waiting to flourish. And what better way is there for a youngster to prove his mettle than by overcoming a champion?

Conceding Careers?

Take for example Bajrang Punia, long considered to be one of India’s most promising young wrestlers. For the longest time, he competed in a weight category lower than what he preferred so as to not compete against his mentor Yogeshwar Dutt.

This is a young wrestler who spent years in the shadows, just so his mentor had a better shot at winning.

But hang on, if Yogeshwar deserved to win a tournament, he should do so by being better than Bajrang, right? Not by Bajrang exiting the field.

Why have India’s senior wrestlers, the gurus so to speak, kept quiet about this tradition all these years? Isn’t it time that the Yogeshwars and the Sushils discourage this toxic tradition and call it out for what it is – a loss to Indian wrestling?

And dear pehelwans, if you don’t agree with me, why don’t you listen to two of your own? This is what the only two men who actually fought Sushil Kumar in the Nationals, told ESPN.

This is the world of sport. You’re meant to compete, not surrender. Whether or not the man you’re up against is your guru, your mentor or your senior.

And if a sporting tradition hurts the game more than helps it, it must go.

After all, bouts are meant to be contested, not conceded.

Cameraperson: Abhay Sharma
Video Editor: Mohd Ibrahim

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