'I've Never Seen A Movie In The Hall'

Sushil Kumar is perhaps India's biggest advertisement for vegetarianism -- well, sort of, because he's just five-feet-four. He's only the second wrestler to win a medal at the Olympics, 56 years after KhashabaJadhav. In wrestling, perhaps more than in most sporting activity, you need muscle power.Because he doesn't eat meat or eggs, Sushil depends entirely on milk, almonds, gheeand such like to build strength. To conserve it, when he's watching his weight,when he says he goes without food for as many as 15 days in a row, he must depend on dietary supplements. He used to buy those food supplements from money won in mud-pit akhara bouts. That's going to change now.A day after winning his bronze, Sushil Kumar was happy, relaxed and his usual straightforward self-- and extremely hungry! Excerpts from a conversation

How many calls did you get in the night?

Many calls, but on my coach's phone. I don't have a phone here. I didn't get a local number. I've been busy so much, just going to practice and then returning to the village and resting and sleeping. Then the tournament started. In Delhi also, I did not get a mobile phone for very long because it can disturb you. I have to practice in the mornings and evenings and rest in the afternoons. And if I don't sleep in time at night, I won't be able to get up on time. I don't want any distractions.

But you did talk with your folks?

Yes, yesterday the Doordarshan people got me connected to my family. I talked with my father, my family, myelder brother, who was also an international wrestler. They're all very happy, all the village is happy for me.

Are you satisfied with the bronze or have plans for the future?

I'll continue to try to win medals; there are other events, like the Asian Games, the Commonwealth Games and the next Olympics.

When you lost your first bout, did you think you could get another chance?

Yes, I knew I could get another chance at a medal. Our pool was very difficult. There were very good fighters from Ukraine, Kazakhstan, the US, Mongolia, Azerbaijan, Belarus… This new repechage format gave me another chance, and I knew that I could beat any of these wrestlers to win a medal.

Any special treatment for you at the athletes' village after the medal?

I don't need the treatment now, the tournament is over.

We meant if you've been given greater respect.

Oh yes, everybody congratulated me and met me with great happiness.

Could you talk about that scissor kick you executed in the tiebreak?

You have to think in the 100th of a second, because if you make the slightest mistake, your opponent would get the point. He won the toss for the tiebreak and had a grip on my leg, and I had to counter. I'd tried this earlier in the match too, but it didn't work.

In old times, they used to say that you get strong if you eat a lot -- 10 litres of milk, kilos of ghee and almonds everyday…

Itna toh na khaa paate! This is only talk! But I do drink about three-four kilos of milk everyday. I'm a vegetarian, most of the wrestlers in India are vegetarian.

You need to watch your weight constantly.

Yes, right. We're constantly worried that we might have gained as little as 100 grams! So sometimes we've got to remain hungry for several days in a row to lose weight. We have to live on fruits and water. To ensure that I don't get weak, I have to take vitamins and other food supplements.

You like movies?

I've never seen a movie in the hall, though I've seen them on TV.

What facilities would you wish to have in India?

Most important is that we should have medical facility -- doctors, trainers and physiotherapists.

When you meet the Prime Minister or the Sports Minister, would you tell them this?

Yes, why not? If they ask me why I could not win a silver or a gold, I'll definitely tell them. Here, with the whole Indian contingent, we have just two-three doctors. When I asked the masseur if he had time for me, he said he did not. My coach, PR Sondhi and Kartar Singh-- a renowned wrestler who's won gold medals at the Asian Games, who's a Padam Shree and Arjuna Award-winner and an IPS officer-- had to give me rub-downs between bouts. In this format, you may have to fight a bout 15 minutes after your previous match. He would ready me for the next match in the breaks.

Who would you hand your bronze to when you get home?

My father, Diwan Chand, for he's had a big role to play in my development as a wrestler. I've been wrestling for 12-13 years, and all these years, at five or six in the morning, he's fetched milk for me. For 15 years, I've never seen a day when he hasn't brought milk for me. On the phone, he said he hoped to win a gold from me, for I'd had a good preparation.

You've been made a manager in the Railways.

Well, I don't know, I'll see that only when I reach home.

Wrestlers are mostly followers of Hanuman. Are you?

I have a photo, a full little temple at my room here! I don't read the Hanuman Chalisa in the mornings, though I do listen to the recordings.

Najafgarh has a star (cricketer, Virender Sehwag), and you're the second star from the place.

Theek hai ji. It's OK.

The town will have to be split among the two of you!

Ek hi theek hai ji, why split it into two! I've met him once, when we were honoured at a function, a long time ago.

You were very aggressive in your final bout, against Leonid Spiridonov. Is this how you wrestle normally?

Yes. We're better than them in stamina, because we practice much more. They practice lesser but still rise to this level because of the support they get. My opponent was relatively fresh, because he'd not wrestled in the afternoon, he'd had a rest in that session.

You try to make the first move, trying to grab the opponent's legs. There is some risk there.

Yes, but then when you get on top, it's a great advantage. Did you watch my fight against the Belarus wrestler (Albert Batyrov)? In the last round, I got seven points against him in the last round, after getting on top.

Who's your guru?

Guru is Satpal ji, I've been practising at his akhara (Chhatrasal, at Model Town in Delhi) for 13-14 years, and there are around five other coaches there.

What's the difference between the techniques you learn from them and modern wrestling?

No difference in the technique, the thing that matters is execution.

Have you fought in the akharas, in mud-pits back home?

Yes, I do contest those fights too, but not much -- say, once a month. There's some money to earn from that kind of wrestling. You don't get money from anywhere else, but in these contests you can sometimes make Rs 11,000, sometimes Rs 25,000. That helps me with my diet etc.