Yogeshwar Dutt
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On the Salman-Olympics ambassador issue. It was Yogeshwar who waded in headlong when the actor was controversially appointed goodwill ambassador for the Indian Olympic contingent, questioning why no sportsman was seen fit enough to be accorded the honour. He commented, “Shaaddi kisi ki, baraati koi, aur dulha koi.“ | On the Salman-Olympics ambassador issue. It was Yogeshwar who waded in headlong when the actor was controversially appointed goodwill ambassador for the Indian Olympic contingent, questioning why no sportsman was seen fit enough to be accorded the honour. He commented, “Shaaddi kisi ki, baraati koi, aur dulha koi.“ | ||
| − | On the Sushil-Narsingh issue “We don't speak to each other anymore,“ he says simply, a hint of a lisp adding to the accent, on the broken friendship with Sushil. “It was a long friendship, but that's not the case anymore. I haven't had the time also to mend any broken bridges and I just want to focus on myself. I haven't wished badly on anyone till now, and I think I'm fine where I am, so I haven't spoken to Sushil about mending things.. | + | On the Sushil-Narsingh Yadav issue (which went to the High Court, which ruled against Sushil, on who should represent India at Rio) “We don't speak to each other anymore,“ he says simply, a hint of a lisp adding to the accent, on the broken friendship with Sushil. “It was a long friendship, but that's not the case anymore. I haven't had the time also to mend any broken bridges and I just want to focus on myself. I haven't wished badly on anyone till now, and I think I'm fine where I am, so I haven't spoken to Sushil about mending things.. |
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| + | But it is also his strangely controversial stands, especially his poem on the JNU-Govt stand-off following the Afzal Guru sloganeering, make him something of a Twitter-vigilante, or a loose cannon, depending on where you stand. Ironically, it makes him perhaps the only Indian sportsman who speaks out on issues, while the sense of the misguided is a throwback to the ways of the man whose appointment as his Olympic contingent's brand am bassador he so memorably ques tioned. | ||
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=Medals= | =Medals= | ||
“The day I won that bronze in London, I set myself a target, which was to claim gold at the Olympics. I wasn't satisfied with third place, and if I wanted to win gold in 2016 in Rio, I would have to begin preparations immediately . Before 2012, the dream was to just win an Olympic medal, and that disappointment of not getting gold in London has spurred me on to this day,“ he says. | “The day I won that bronze in London, I set myself a target, which was to claim gold at the Olympics. I wasn't satisfied with third place, and if I wanted to win gold in 2016 in Rio, I would have to begin preparations immediately . Before 2012, the dream was to just win an Olympic medal, and that disappointment of not getting gold in London has spurred me on to this day,“ he says. | ||
Revision as of 19:39, 23 July 2016
This is a collection of articles archived for the excellence of their content. |
Contents |
A profile
The Times of India, May 9, 2015
Battling a career-threatening knee injury twice (in 2009 & 2013), Yogeshwar Dutt bounced back to end India's 28 year wait for a wrestling gold in Asian Games, winning in 65kg freestyle category at the Incheon Asian Games. The 32-year-old was awarded the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna for his bronze-winning effort in the London Olympics. The Sonipat-lad became only the third Indian wrestler to win an Olympic medal after KD Jadhav (1952) and Sushil Kumar (2008, 2012).Yogeshwar also has two Commonwealth Games gold medals to his name. Jul 23 2016 : Siddharth Saxena The Times of India (Delhi)
Vital statistics
28-inched at the waist,
Body Mass Index (BMI) 6
Speaking his mind
On the Salman-Olympics ambassador issue. It was Yogeshwar who waded in headlong when the actor was controversially appointed goodwill ambassador for the Indian Olympic contingent, questioning why no sportsman was seen fit enough to be accorded the honour. He commented, “Shaaddi kisi ki, baraati koi, aur dulha koi.“
On the Sushil-Narsingh Yadav issue (which went to the High Court, which ruled against Sushil, on who should represent India at Rio) “We don't speak to each other anymore,“ he says simply, a hint of a lisp adding to the accent, on the broken friendship with Sushil. “It was a long friendship, but that's not the case anymore. I haven't had the time also to mend any broken bridges and I just want to focus on myself. I haven't wished badly on anyone till now, and I think I'm fine where I am, so I haven't spoken to Sushil about mending things..
But it is also his strangely controversial stands, especially his poem on the JNU-Govt stand-off following the Afzal Guru sloganeering, make him something of a Twitter-vigilante, or a loose cannon, depending on where you stand. Ironically, it makes him perhaps the only Indian sportsman who speaks out on issues, while the sense of the misguided is a throwback to the ways of the man whose appointment as his Olympic contingent's brand am bassador he so memorably ques tioned.
Medals
“The day I won that bronze in London, I set myself a target, which was to claim gold at the Olympics. I wasn't satisfied with third place, and if I wanted to win gold in 2016 in Rio, I would have to begin preparations immediately . Before 2012, the dream was to just win an Olympic medal, and that disappointment of not getting gold in London has spurred me on to this day,“ he says.
For someone who only first learnt of Olympics as an idea when Leander Paes won the bronze in 1996, Yogeshwar himself is a veteran of sorts. Rio will be his fourth Games and turning into a monk each time comes naturally to him now. “I had three operations in 2015, and I was out of action for almost the whole year, but when I was injured or free from training, I was just thinking about how to prepare for Rio, how to build my legs, how to improve my strength. I also changed my weight category from 60kg to 65kg. But I did win gold at the 2014 Asian Games, and gold at any other event that I participated in. That gave me the confidence that I can do well in the 65kg category.
“After the 2014 Asian Games gold, I made quite a few changes. My diet, then I started avoiding lots of things. I never went out much anyways. I rarely went home, maybe on Sundays I'd go and meet my mother and house-folk for 2, 3 hours, then I'd sleep and leave for the training centre in the morning. Talk is less. I've even asked them not to come to meet me unless there is an emergency . My phone is also switched off, and I only use it if some important work comes up.
Diet
“Kuch paane ke liye, kuch khona padta hai,“ he informs us. He says, as part of a carb-free diet, he hasn't eaten a roti in nearly two months now; there is paneer and fruits without the juice to eliminate the sugar intake. His diet is bland, he hates it, but he does it.
2014
Dec 31 2014
WRESTLING
The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) had copped criticism after it picked Yogeshwar Dutt for the Commonwealth Games without a selection trial. The criticism seemed justified as Dutt had not taken part in many events since the 2012 London Olympics and had also changed his weight category from 60kg to 65kg. But the wrestler proved his detractors wrong by claiming the gold in Glasgow, winning all his contests including the final without conceding even a single point. At the Incheon Asiad, a determined Dutt bagged the nation's first wrestling gold since Kartar Singh's triumph in 1986 in Seoul.
