Greco-Roman is not the style of wrestling Indians are famous for. But Gurpreet Singh is changing that as he kept our flag shining proudly.
He won gold in a Rome ranking series tournament, beating Burhan Akbudak 8-5 in the 82kg final.
Gurpreet started with a 7-0 decimation of Germany's Florian Neumaier to reach the quarterfinals. In the quarters, he beat Ukraine's Dmytro Gardubei by technical superiority. In the semis, the wrestler thrashed America's John Walter Stefanowicz 5-0.
"I focused on my attacking techniques and also on the hold positions. It is wonderful to win the gold medal," Gurpreet, a man of limited words, told TOI.
Greco-Roman wrestling isn't as popular as freestyle because most Indian wrestlers grow up fighting dangals, where rules and regulations of the freestyle form are followed. India's chief Greco-Roman coach, Hargobind Singh, feels things are changing in the country bit by bit.
"The Greco-Roman form arrived late in India. We have a lot of catching up to do. It is not the traditional form of Indian wrestling. The upbringing of an Indian wrestler is always on freestyle. They turn to Greco-Roman only when they don't do well at the senior level. The problem is in freestyle, the focus is always on strength and stamina. When you train for that, you lose speed which is bad for Greco-Roman. That's why we are not yet at the top level. The good news is that Greco-Roman style has now been introduced at the school level and kids can learn it from a very young age," Hargobind explained.
Gurpreet, who is currently working as a sub-inspector in Punjab Police, has wrestling in his blood. His father was a national-level wrestler. Gurpreet was enrolled at the Gulzar akhada in Zirakpur when he was 10. "My father has been my inspiration," he said.
India had more reasons to cheer on the Greco-Roman front. Sajan Bhanwal won bronze in the 77kg weight class, beating Emrah Kus of Turkey by fall. This was India's third Greco-Roman medal in the tournament as Sunil Kumar had won silver on Day 1 in the 87kg category.