Sushil looked doomed with his defeat against Andriy Stadnik in the morning session but with the Ukrainian managing to reach the final, the repechage door was still open for the Indian.

Accordingly, Sushil was to play three bouts over 70 minutes to win that bronze and the Indian ended up doing just that.

In the first repechage round at 1600 hrs local time, he edged out American Doug Schwab and had his next bout lined up against Belarussian Albert Batyrov precisely at 1620 hrs.

Once Sushil cleared that hurdle too, he was to play losing semifinalist Leonid Spiridinov at 1710 and all along he did not have a masseur to do the rubbing and massaging.

"We did not have a dedicated masseur. I asked a masseur 'Do you have time to attend me?' and he said no," Sushil revealed.

"So team manager Kartar Singh had to do the job. We did not have any idea about the doctors either, who had been attached with the contingent," Sushil said.

"Going into my fourth bout of the day, I was really tired and there was hardly any time to relax in between. I badly needed the rubbing and massaging," Sushil said.

The wrestler said technically there was not much to chose between an Indian grappler and his foreign counterparts but facilities made all the difference.

"Trust me, gold medal is not an absurd dream. We have a talent pool deep enough and all you need is infrastructure," he said.

Asked how he celebrated his bronze medal-winning feat, Sushil said, "I just gorged on food. Before a bout, we generally go on a fast to ensure we are not overweight. Even if you drink a glass of water, it becomes a reason for panic.

"Once my bout was over, I had enough food. I'm a vegetarian and I ate mostly fruits," he said.

Sushil admitted occasionally grappling in 'akhara' for easy money, even though with cash awards flowing from all quarters and a promotion promised, he may not need to do it again.

"I'm not sure (about the promised awards). Once I reach home I would have a better idea," said the Najafgarh resident.

Asked about the other celebrity sportsperson from Najafgarh, Sushil said he once met Virender Sehwag and that was it.