A 23 year-old Junior National Wrestling Champion was beaten to death in New Delhi, India with fellow wrestler and Olympic silver medalist Sushil Kumar being the prime suspect in the murder case at present. Sagar Rana was a promising young prospect who was viciously attacked by a group of men at the Chhatrasal Stadium in the north-west of New Delhi, with the group repeatedly striking him with hockey sticks and baseball bats during the beating.
Local police are alleging that the group of men were led by the 37 year-old Sushil Kumar, who is one of India’s most celebrated sporting heroes as a multiple-time Commonwealth champion and a two-time medalist at the Olympics. According to an early report by The Print, authorities believe that the attack was launched because Kumar believed that Rana was “badmouthing him in public” and “disrespecting him”. Alongside this, the relationship between the pair turned sour when Rana was unable to pay rent as he was living in a property owned by Kumar at the time. Although he initially refused, eventually Rana left the property willingly when asked.
Two of Rana’s friends were injured in the sustained attack and another wrestler, Prince Dalal has been arrested on suspicion of being involved. The Indian Express reported that police found video evidence of the assault on Dalal’s phone but are still currently hunting for the Olympic wrestler Kumar, and he is wanted for murder. They launched several raids across the country in order to catch the suspect, but so far have not been able to locate him.
Sadly, this is one of many stories to show that even the most celebrated athletes and talented grapplers can be guilty of crimes against one another.
