Sushil, Yogeshwar doubtful for Asian Championship

Recuperating from their shoulder and knee injuries, star Indian grapplers Sushil Kumar and Yogeshwar Dutt remain doubtful starters for the Senior Asian Wrestling Championship to be held from April 18 to 22.

"I am recovering well from my injury. My knee is showing signs of improvement. I will undergo a fitness test a day or two before the Championship and based on it, the coach and the federation will take a final call on my participation," Yogeshwar said.

"If I don't participate in the championship, my fellow grappler Bajrang, who has been named as reserve, will compete in my 60-kg category," said the London Olympic bronze medallist.

Both Yogeshwar and Sushil (66kg) are part of the squad announced for the Championships to be held at the K D Jadhav Stadium.

The chief national coach Vinod Kumar said he is hopeful of their participation in the event but does not want to push them hard.

"The championship is happening in India, so we can take a call on these players a day before the tournament also. Sushil is recovering well from his shoulder injury and is practising hard to get fit in time.

"The world championships in September is more important for them. They don't want to take chances with their injuries.

The level of expectation is high from both the grapplers in the world championships in Hungary," said Kumar.

Yogeshwar's first bout will be on April 20, while Sushil would take the arena on April 22 in their respective weight categories if they play in the Asian meet.

Sushil, since his silver medal feat in London last year, has not participated in any tournament while Yogeshwar had given the Dave Schultz Cup held in February a miss due to the same injury.