PWL organisers and owners don't know about my image and stature: Sushil Kumar
Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar has slammed Pro Wrestling League (PWL) organizers and team owners for their disrespectful comments towards him. The Delhi born wrestler has also insisted that preparation for the upcoming Olympics was one of the reasons for his withdrawal from the tournament.
After Sushil Kumar, who was signed by Uttar Pradesh Warriors for Rs 38.20 lakh in the auction, pulled out of the inaugural PWL in the last minute, a PWL executive council member claimed that the 32-year-old's priorities has changed, and that he is investing time in 'commercial engagements'. This comment has not gone down well with the World Wrestling Championships gold medallist.
"Have the franchise owners or league organisers ever fought or witnessed a wrestling match? Were they so smart that they came to know about me, my hobbies in one week after meeting me? Whoever was saying certain things about me, they don't know me. You know me for so long, have been around me. I have been blessed with everything in life after the 2008 Beijing Olympics,” he was quoted as saying by the DNA newspaper.
"These organisers and franchise owners are new to wrestling. I think they don't know about my image and stature. Whatever they said over the past couple of days was their thinking, not mine," he added.
When asked about why he did not speak up earlier about this issue, he said, "After talking to guru ji (Satpal) and Brij Bhushan Singh ji, I went for a 21-day training programme to Georgia in order to get match-fit for the league. On return, I realised that I was not 100 per cent fit. I still need time to recover from shoulder and hand injuries. The WFI president himself told me that I should first attain full fitness before competing in the PWL. He said he wanted me fit for Rio. I had informed my federation in due course”.
Sushil Kumar also spoke about the controversial tweet of Bengaluru co-owner Parth Jindal, who claimed that "Sushil is scared of fighting Narsingh Yadav", when he pulled out of the tournament.
“The franchise owners had their own view of looking at things in certain manner. I have fought against Narsingh Yadav many times. I had even defeated him two years back. If a wrestler is fearful of facing an opponent, then he shouldn't think about competing in Olympics,” said Sushil.
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