Wrestler Sushil Kumar, the only Indian to win two individual Olympic medals, said yesterday that the sport's administrators did not take him seriously when he revealed he was offered money to lose the final bout in the 2010 World Championships in Moscow.
“I had told even in 2010 about this incident, but nobody responded. I’m not in FILA (wrestling’s world governing body) or any other federation, so I can’t say if the Russian’s medal should be taken away,” Sushil told NDTV of his 66 kg freestyle bout against Russian Alan Gogayev in the World Championships.u00a0The Indian rejected the offer and won 3-1. He said he was offered around Rs.3 crore to lose the title clash.
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Sushil Kumar
“I was approached through a coach to throw the final bout. I was offered about Rs 3 crores. Wrestling is huge in Russia, and I suppose they didn’t expect an Indian to enter the final,” said Sushil. The 30-year-old won the bronze medal at 2008 Beijing Olympics and followed up with a silver at the London Games last year.
Refusing money is not new for the champion athlete. Sushil declined a Rs 50 lakh offer for appearing in a surrogate advertisement for a liquor brand.
The 30-year-old said wrestling should get rid of corrupt officials.u00a0
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