New Delhi: The brawl between the supporters of wrestlers Sushil Kumar and Parveen Rana took a new turn after the Commonwealth Games gold medalist Rana accused Sushil of “personally instigating” his supporters to beat him (Rana) up after the completion of a selection trial few days ago.
“As soon as the bout ended Sushil Kumar told his supporters ‘yeh raha isko dekhle’ (here he is show him) and then walked into a room. He personally instigated them,” said Rana as quoted by the Times of India.
A fight broke out between the supporters of the other the national level wrestlers following their bouts at the Commonwealth trials, that left Rana’s brother bleeding in pain.
“He was hit by a chair on his head,” said Rana later. “We have taken him for a MRI scan.”
The 25 year-old also accused the two-time Olympics medalist of deceitful strategies for extra rest during the bout. Sushil was seen showing his blood stained hand to the referee repeatedly after Rana had performed what he called was ‘Kheme Dav.’ A move where the opponent’s wrist slides pass the mouth.
“I did not bite Sushil,” said Rana. He was “Trying to rub his wrist again and again on my mouth. It was his strategy, he showed the blood on his hand to the referee and took rest four times during the bout,” he added on the sidelines of of a Pro Wrestling League(PWL) event.
Rana also claimed that he was threatened before the Nationals where along with three other wrestlers had given Sushil Kumar a walkover, that led to the latter winning the National Wrestling Championships without putting up a fight. It had later sparked controversy but he defended his move that eventful day mentioning, he had given a walkover to nurse his injury and prepare well for the Commonwealth Games.
“During the Nationals I was threatened. I don’t know who was behind it but a few men came to me and threatened me. I gave the walkover because I was injured. I knew I had CWG trials a few days later and I wanted to focus on that,” Rana said.
He also took a dig at Sushil for not competing in the World Championships and for pretending fake of loving the country.
“We mid-level wrestlers participate in championships and tournaments on our own but when it’s the question of CWG these popular wrestlers come into the limelight saying they want to perform for the country,” he said. Brief adding, “If they want to perform, win medals why don’t they participate in Asian Games and World Championships? It is because they know they can get their way in CWG and then stay away for three years.”
The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) had issued a notice to Sushil as a part of its investigation following the scuffle during the trials and the grappler agreed that such a brawl was unprecented and never occurred before in India.