Olympic medalist Sushil Kumar wants India to play Pakistan in World Cup and beat them

There have been intense calls for India to boycott their World Cup clash with Pakistan in England in June following the recent suicide terror attack on a convoy of CRPF jawans. A number of cricketers – current and former – have opined that India should not take part in the match against the arch-rivals while some others have said that the BCCI should pressurise the ICC to throw Pakistan out of the tournament.

India’s two-time Olympic medalist Sushil Kumar also harbours angry emotions over the attacks but is against boycotting the game. The wrestler instead wants Virat Kohli’s men to beat the opponents ‘comprehensively’ to avenge the killings of the soldiers in Pulwama. A young suicide attacker rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a bus carrying the personnel blowing it up, leaving 44 dead.

“Believe me, it’s a great high [beating Pakistan]. I have done that at the Commonwealth level twice. The feeling is incomparable and fills one with a lot of pride,” the 35-year-old sportsman, who won a bronze at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and London Olympics in 2012, told India Today in an interview.

India have never lost to Pakistan in World Cup

India have never lost to Pakistan in a World Cup encounter ever since they first met in Sydney in the 1992 edition. The Men in Blue have beaten their opponents thrice under Mohammad Azharuddin (1992, 1996 and 1999), twice under Mahendra Singh Dhoni (2011 and 2015) and once under Sourav Ganguly (2003).

Calling the idea of boycotting a tie against Pakistan not a good one, Sushil said in an international competition, one cannot decide the participation by itself.

“We have to become a world champion there, that is our goal. If we are in a situation where we have to play against Pakistan then we can’t refuse. Going on a backfoot at that juncture is also not a matter of national pride. I want our players to perform their best and beat them comprehensively,” he said.

On the army, Sushil said it should be given a free hand to give a befitting reply to Pakistan. He said he has many friends in the defence forces and he gets to hear from them how tough life is for them.

“When it comes to standing up for the country, we should not think about anything, be it sports or anything else. We should decide how to avenge the loss of our soldiers. They are our true heroes,” he added.

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