Wrestler Sushil Kumar condemns violence after Commonwealth Games qualification trials

What's the story?

Sushil Kumar booked his ticket to the 2018 Commonwealth Games as he beat Jitendra Kumar to qualify for the 74 kg category. Sushil won all his bouts during the qualifiers and one of them was against fellow wrestler Parveen Rana.

A massive brawl took place after the match, with both sets of supporters involved in the ugly incident. However, the two-time Olympic medallist was quick to condemn the actions of his supporters and took to Twitter to apologise on their behalf.

It’s very unfortunate and highly condemnable what has happened today at the stadium. I do not support anyone who gets violence in between sportsmanship. My aim is to fight & win for my Nation like a true sportsman & not to win against any group or individual #JaiHind ??

— Sushil Kumar (@WrestlerSushil) December 29, 2017

After the incident, he was also quoted as saying, "It is very unfortunate and I condemn it. It is wrong, there is no space for such things in sports."

In case you didn't know

Both Sushil Kumar and Parveen Rana train at the same venue, the Chhatrasal Stadium in New Delhi. For the senior grappler, this is yet another controversy after his controversial gold medal at the National Championships held earlier this year.

The heart of the matter

Sushil returned to international action when he won the gold medal at the Commonwealth World Championships, where incidentally, he defeated Rana in the final.

Kumar's bout versus Rana on Friday was a controversial one as both wrestlers had issues with how the match panned out. While Sushil claimed that he was bitten during the match, Rana said that Sushil's supporters beat him and his elder brother "for daring to take the ring" against him.

What's next?

Sushil Kumar did the right thing when he condemned the violence that took place. It is important that Kumar keeps his mind off this and starts his preparation for the Commonwealth Games.

He will be vying for his third successive gold medal in wrestling having won it in Glasgow 2014 and New Delhi 2010.

Author's take

It is very disheartening when fans indulge in such violence. The fans need to understand that in the end it is just a sport and in the end and maintaining sportsman spirit and mutual respect is as important as winning.