Bollywood actor-director Farhan Akhtar ‘hopes’ two-time Olympic medalist Sushil Kumar does not accept the gold medal, which he clinched in the National Wrestling Championship without even breaking a sweat. Back in action after three-long years, Sushil fought just at the first and the second rounds before he was declared the ultimate winner in the 74kg category of the event, held in Indore, as three of his challengers wrestlers, including the finalist, Praveen Rana, offered him walkovers.

Farhan Akhtar

However, the ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’ star, who does not seem convinced with the triumph, took to Twitter to voice out his opinion. ‘I hold @WrestlerSushil in high regard for all he has achieved through hard work, discipline, blood and sweat. Sincerely hope he does not accept the gold in this manner. It’s not sportsmanlike,’ he tweeted. It should be noted the three opponents also touched Sushil’s feet while giving him a walkover as their tribute to India’s greatest individual Olympian.

After Sushil lifted the national gold, fighting for just two minutes and 55 seconds in five matches, the referee reportedly applauded the gesture of the wrestlers and said: ‘Yeh hai Bharat ki kushti ki parampara’ (This is the tradition of Indian wrestling). Finalist Rana, who was sent to the 2016 Rio Olympics by the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) following the Narsingh-Sushil controversy, gave a walkover to the two-time Olympic medallist citing a thigh injury. The two other wrestlers Sushil faced earlier in the day were Sachin Rathi of Uttar Pradesh and Praveen of Haryana.

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