Sushil ready to play Olympics, says coach as Narsingh Yadav fails dope test

After Rio-bound wrestler Narsingh Yadav tested positive for a banned substance, fellow Indian wrestler Sushil Kumar has said that respect is something that needs to be earned, not demanded.

Even though he did not indicate in his Instagram post that he was commenting on Narsingh’s doping scandal, his message came about the time his nemesis was tested positive.

A photo posted by Sushil Kumar (@wrestlersushil) on Jul 24, 2016 at 1:34am PDT

The report of his ‘A’ sample test came out positive. Later, he was called for his ‘B’ sample test, which also returned positive.

And Sushil is ready to show the world that he still has it in him to make a mark, according to coach Vinod Kumar. “Hum toh ready hai. We have been training even after Narsingh, and Sushil is fit and raring to go should he be called upon.”

It was Narsingh who denied Sushil’s the chance of an Olympics swansong. According to a Wrestling Federation of India rule, and after much brouhaha, the former was chosen as the man to represent India in the 74kg category, the same event as Sushil. 

Some quarters claim that this is a conspiracy theory by Sushil’s camp to ensure he makes it to the Olympics, but Vinod dismissed such allegations. “How can anyone say that without knowing the details? Narsingh has surely used substances with the grand hopes of winning gold at Rio. We have been nowhere close to him since his selection. Sushil has been training at the Chhatrasal Stadium in Delhi since May 12, so any such claims are completely silly. Even a great sportsperson like Maria Sharapova failed a test, and just like her, only Narsingh knows what he has been taking,” he retorted.