Veteran wrestler Sushil Kumar qualifies for 2018 Commonwealth Games
Sushil Kumar
What's the story?
The next edition of the Commonwealth Games is being held in Gold Coast, Australia and veteran Indian wrestler Sushil Kumar secured his spot in the 74 kg category after he came through in the qualification trials earlier on Friday.
He has an impressive record in the Commonwealth Games and has won two gold medals at the event. Both medals have come in the last two editions of the games that were held in Glasgow and New Delhi respectively.
In case you didn't know...
Sushil Kumar is also a two-time Olympic medallist. He won the bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics (66 kg) and won a silver medal in the same category in the 2012 London Olympics.
The heart of the matter
In the qualification trials, Sushil beat fellow grappler Jitendra Kumar to seal his berth at the quadrennial event.
He has returned to action after a long gap and won the National Championships earlier this year, under quite controversial circumstances after receiving three straight walkovers on his road to the gold.
He followed up with another gold medal at the Commonwealth World Championships held in South Africa this month. A dominating performance at the qualification trials will be a confidence boost for Sushil and his team as they gear up to prepare for the 2018 season.
What's next?
The Commonwealth Games are slated to start on April 4 in Australia and will continue till April 15 and Sushil will certainly be gunning for a hat-trick of gold medals at the Games.
Author's take
After dominating in the qualification trials, Sushil has stamped his ticket to the Commonwealth Games and will be raring to go for what promises to be a packed season ahead. Here's hoping he makes the nation proud once again!