Sushil Kumar creates history, but goes down fighting in final of 66kg wrestling match

London, Aug.12 (ANI): India's Sushil Kumar went down fighting in the final of the FR 66kg wrestling bout here on Sunday evening.

Kumar ended up with a silver medal after losing to Japan's Tatsuhiro Yonemitsu 1-3. It was his second consecutive Olympic medal, following up on his bronze at the Beijing Olympics, which is a proud record to have in itself.

India also created history, bettering its Olympic medal count, grabbing six this time, including four bronze medals and two silver medals.

It has also emerged that going into the final, Kumar was nursing a shoulder injury.

En route to the final of the 66kg bout, Kumar defeated Russia's Ramazan Sahin, Uzbekistan's Ikhitiyor Navruzov and Kazakhstan's Akshurek Tanatarov.

Sports Minister Ajay Maken said in Delhi that to qualify for participation in the Olympics was a major achievement in itself, and for India to come back with six medals was magnificent.

Congratulating Sushil Kumar for getting medals in two consecutive Olympics, Maken said he deserved all the congratulations from the government and the country, as his record achievement was praiseworthy. He also lauded Kumar's simplicity and focused approach to the game of wrestling, and was of the view that he was a legend in his own right. (ANI)