Sushil, Dutt doubtful

The participation of India’s Olympic bound wrestlers in the inaugural Hari Ram India Grand Prix tournament, beginning on Friday at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, is under a cloud of uncertainty.

Only Narsingh Yadav (74kg), the last of the five Indian wrestlers to qualify for the London Games, has confirmed his participation. Amit Kumar, who qualified for the 55kg, pulled out owing to a bout of chicken pox.

However, country’s top two experienced wrestlers, Beijing Olympic bronze medallist Sushil Kumar and Yogeshwar Dutt, both nursing niggles, are yet to confirm their participation. 
Sushil has injured his knee while Yogeshwar has strained his waist. “It is difficult to say anything now. There is still time for Sushil’s bout which is on Sunday, so we have time to decide. At the moment, both Sushil and Yogeshwar’s participation is uncertain,” chief coach Vinod Kumar said.

Among the women wre-stlers, Geeta, who qualified for London in 55kg category, is here and expected to participate in the tournament.

The  organisers had  promised the participation of  some of the top wrestlers, including Olympics and World championship medallists.

Yusup Abdusalomov (84kg) of Tajikistan, the 2008 Olympic silver medallist, Mongolia’s Burmaa Ochirbat (72kg) , 2009 World championship silver medallist, and Nara-nchimeg Gelegjamts (72kg), the 2010 Asian Games winner, current European champion Lyudmila Balushka (48kg women), are expected to be seen in action here.