Four months back, while the majority of athletes around the world saw their Olympic dreams getting crushed due to the postponed Tokyo Games, Narsingh Pancham Yadav had all the reasons to celebrate. The deferment had given him a new lease of life to fulfill his Olympic dream. And now, with the four-year ban which was imposed at 2016 Rio Games ended, he has taken another step towards it.
Narsingh is currently at his home in Mumbai, training at a local akhada. He is married now, the father of a three-month-old baby boy. His life is entirely different from four years ago when he was a 26-year-old at the peak of his career. However, a four-year ban slapped by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) had put a full stop to his carer.
Now, with the ban ended, Narsingh has his eyes set for the Tokyo Olympics. “The ban has ended. I am just waiting for an official letter from WADA which they have told me will come in a day or two. After that I will get in touch with Wrestling Federation of India,” he said with a tinge of joy in his voice.
A bronze medallist in the 74kg freestyle division at the 2015 World Championships, Narsingh would want to pick up from where he left. He would vie for a place in the Indian team for the Tokyo Games. National Anti-Doping Agency chief Navin Agarwal said that the wrestler would now have to write to WFI informing them about the end of his ban. “He has to write a letter to the concerned federation, then they will decide on how to go about it”.
74kg — Group of Death
The middleweight category is the ‘group of death’ in India. It boasts the likes of twin Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar, Asian Championship silver medallist Jitender and two-time Asian Champion medallist Praveen Rana.
Narsingh would also throw in the hat in the fray at the national championships which are likely to be held in January next year. “Will leave it on WFI to decide when I can compete. Until then I am training hard at the local akhada,” the 2010 Commonwealth Games champion told WrestlingTV.
First World Champion, then Olympics
The 30-year-old wrestler will probably be the most benefited amongst Indian wrestlers if the world championships are held this year. The announcement for the possible world championships in December has come like a silver lining for him as a medal in Serbia would be enough to mark his spectacular comeback on the mat. “It is good. Yes, indeed, I have not competed in any international competition but I have been training every day. I think I am ready,” he said.
