NEW DELHI: Wrestler Sushil Kumar, the only Indian to win two individual Olympic medals, said Friday 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 a news channel of his 66 kg freestyle bout against Russian Alan Gogayev in the World Championships.
The Indian rejected the offer and won 3-1. He said he was offered around Rs 3 crore to lose the title clash.
“I was approached through a coach to throw the final bout. I was offered about Rs 3 crore. 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.
It may be mentioned that refusing money is not something new for the champion Indian athlete.
Sushil declined a Rs 50 lakh offer for appearing in a surrogate advertisement for a liquor brand.
