20 August,2016 09:05 AM IST | | Sundari Iyer
When you enter the Sports Authority of India (Kandivli) centre, two huge hoardings wishing Narsingh Yadav good luck for Rio welcomes you.
SAI wrestling coach GS Sangha with his trainees yesterday
When you enter the Sports Authority of India (Kandivli) centre, two huge hoardings wishing Narsingh Yadav good luck for Rio welcomes you. But today, the entire campus has been submerged in deep sorrow. Narsingh has been an inspiration to not just the budding wrestlers here but also to the coaches.
SAI wrestling coach GS Sangha with his trainees yesterday
A dejected GS Sangha, wrestling coach at SAI, Kandivli, said that the ban has been very harsh.
"Everybody at SAI was geared up to watch Narsingh in action. I woke up to see TV screens flash the CAS decision and it shook me," said Sangha.
"A clean player like Narsingh who has been sabotaged and cheated by his fellow compatriots, has ended up getting a ban instead of coming back with a medal. The ban has demoralised all the boys in SAI for whom Narsingh is an inspiration. The ban is a slap to the nation who couldn't present his case properly," fumed Sangha.
Sarvesh Yadav (60kg wrestler) from Banaras, Uttar Pradesh who shares the room with Narsingh at the SAI hostel said that despite the ban he would remain his hero for life.
"Narsingh bhaiyya is the reason why I took up wrestling. He is an international star, but he stays with us. That shows his greatness. The news (ban) has shattered me. For me he is my hero and will remain so," said 17-year-old Sarvesh.
Another junior wrestler Anish Raut (who fights in the 86 kg weight category) said that Narsingh's ban has made him stronger. "What happened to bhaiyya can happen to anyone of us. We have learnt a lesson, that you cannot trust anybody. Thankfully bhaiyya has a job. What if he didn't? His life would be ruined," said the Class XI student of the Esplanade Junior College (Kandivli).
