India’s Sushil Kumar won India its sixth and final medal of the 2012 London Olympics after settling for silver in the final of the Men’s 66kg Freestyle Wrestling event on Sunday. Sushil, who reached the final after defeating Tana Tarov of Kazakhstan in the semi-finals, was beaten by Japan’s Tatsuhiro Yonemitsu 3-1 in a short and swift final bout at the ExCel Arena. The Japanase took the first period 1-0 and midway through the second clinched gold by virtue of a strong throw that sent Sushil to the mat. The 29-year-old Indian demolished Akhzurek Tanatrov of Kazakhstan 3-1 in an engrossing semi-final contest to achieve the memorable feat and provide the late spark to India’s Olympic campaign. Apart from Sushil’s silver, India have so far bagged one silver and four bronze medals in the 30th edition of the Games, surpassing the one gold and two bronze medals they won in Beijing four years ago. Sushil, a bronze medallist in the Beijing Games and the flag bearer of the Indian contingent here, kept his reputation intact with a stunning display of skill, stamina and power as he wriggled out of some difficult positions to fashion victories. Backed by vociferous Indian spectators, Sushil wrapped up the first period 3-0 in the high-voltage semi-final clash against Tanatrov but lost the second by an identical score. In the crucial third round, the Indian was lagging 0-3 behind but he showed his class and strength to fightback and level the score after pegging him down by his legs …
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