NEW DELHI, June 21: Barely 24 hours before the commencement of the World Cadet wrestling Championships, Anil Kumar Mann had no clue whether at all he would figure in the competition. It took a lot of persuasion on part of his coach, former Asian champion and Arjuna Awardee Satpal, to get the 16-year-old Anil Kumar into the Indian team.

By winning the gold medal, the first by an Indian after a gap of three years, Anil Kumar, born in Prahladpur Village in Haryana, not only gave a fitting reply to those who had ignored his claims earlier but also justified the confidence reposed in his abilities by his mentor.

``I had to make special requests to the WFI president G S Mander to include the boy in the squad after I learnt that he was not in the final list released to the media on the morning of the weigh-in,'' said an elated Satpal, soon after his ward's success.

The WFI seemed to have been guided by Anil Kumar's fifth place finish in the recent National Games at Mysore, where he participated in the 85-kg category. But what the WFI probably did not realise was that the National Games was senior meet, and this one a age-group competition. Further at Mysore he fought in a weight category higher than the 83-kg section.

All that Satpal wanted of the WFI was to give him a `trial'. He was sure of the boy he has been training at the Chhattarsaal Stadium for the last four years. The WFI finally relented, though at the very last minute, to have a final trial to `watch' the boy. ``I am grateful that the WFI officials agreed and included him in the place of Munna Lal Sheikh,'' added Satpal, narrating the tale of how he spent two restless days trying to persuade the WFI officials.

Munna Lal was subsequently shifted to the Delhi squad -- India, by virtue of being the hosts, had the prerogative to field two teams: one national and another of the venue city. Munna Lal replaced Sukhwinder Singh, originally in the Delhi squad. As it turned out, Munna Lal finished seventh in 83-kg after losing to F Cakiroglu of Turkey.

In contrast Mann went on to win the gold. The 10th standard student of Government School, Tulsi Nagar, had shown promise of becoming a medal winner by claiming the gold medal in the National School Games at Hissar earlier this year.

At the cadet Championships here, Anil lived up to the promise by beating Garaeyfuad of Azerbaijan by technical superiority in the first round. The Indian showed no nerves while outclassing Russia's K Roustum 4-1 in the next round.

After getting a third-round bye, he took on a superior Kamran Amiri of Iran in the semi-final. ``It was a tough bout,'' said Anil of his semi-final clash. ``Once I beat the Iranian, I knew that the final against Poland's Tonasi would not be a problem,'' he said. Indeed, it was the Indian who dominated the four-minute final from the word go with his aggressive approach.

A delighted Satpal contends Anil Kumar will be the one to watch out for at the Sydney Olympics. ``There is still a long time for the Sydney Games but I am sure he will work hard to earn a gold medal for the country. He needs the support of the government. The World Cadet gold medal surely is a shot in the arm for Indian wrestling, which had been stagnant for the past few years. It marks the revival of Indian wrestling,'' feels Satpal. India has just one Olympic wrestling medal, a bronze back in 1952. So, when Satpal talks of a gold, it might seem a tall order. But, he like anybody else knows, any medal would do.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.