Two-time Olympic medallist wrestler Sushil Kumar has set his sight on the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He says the year 2019 will mark the start of the preparations for the prestigious tournament, for which "I am working really hard."
The 35-year-old wrestler from Haryana said that he already has bronze and silver Olympics medals in his kitty. It is the yellow metal that he is aiming for.
Speaking to ANI, Sushil said, "Preparations for Tokyo Olympics will start in 2019. I need good wishes from the countrymen to perform well. I have already won the Olympics bronze and silver medal but one thing (gold medal) is left."
"I am working hard to achieve that. My coaches are putting in a lot of effort, as well. I just want my countrymen to constantly support me as they have one in the past."
Reflecting on the kind of performance Indian wrestlers gave in the year 2018, Sushil said that the year has been great for wrestling as they gave some solid performances.
"The year 2018 has been really good for wrestling. The entire team, new wrestlers, everybody did a really good job. I believe that the coming time would be equally for the Indian wrestlers," he said.
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"The year 2019 is about to start and I want the good wishes of all the people so that our wrestling team qualify for more and more events and win medals for the country," added Sushil.
Talking about his own experiences of 2018, the wrestler said that the year was special to him in the sense that he made a comeback after a gap of almost four years. While admitting that there were some low moments, Sushil said that he is content with his performance.
"This year has been good because I made a comeback after three-four years. I lost in many competitions. I won in many competitions but I would say that it has been a good year as I made a successful comeback," he said.
Sushil had clinched a gold medal in the 2018 Commonwealth Games which was his third consecutive gold in the competition. The wrestler, however, had a forgettable campaign at the 2018 Asian Games where he did not manage to open his winning account.