Two-time Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar on Friday prevailed in the trials conducted for entry into India’s wrestling squad for the 2018 Commonwealth Games to be held at Gold Coast, Australia, in April.
The 34-year-old, who is India’s only two-time Olympic individual medallist, defeated Jitender Kumar 4-3 in the final qualification round of the 74 kg category at the KD Jadhav Stadium.
He had previously won two gold medals in Commonwealth Games — in 2010 in New Delhi and 2014 in Glasgow.
After the Glasgow Games, Sushil suffered injuries and even missed the 2016 Rio Olympics.
He returned to action at the National championships last month, and had recently won gold at the Commonwealth Wrestling Championships in Johannesburg.
Meanwhile, in an incident which should have been avoided, alleged supporters of Sushil and his opponent Parveen Rana clashed at the stadium.
The scuffle allegedly broke out after Parveen bit Sushil during a trial match.
“It’s very unfortunate and highly condemnable what has happened today at the stadium. I do not support anyone who gets violent in between sportsmanship. My aim is to fight & win for my Nation like a true sportsman & not to win against any group or individual #JaiHind,” Sushil tweeted reacting to the incident.