flexibility along with power because throws can be made over ones own back if necessary - by bending backwards and forming a bridge.Hardeep says to pre

In the space of three months, Hardeep Singh has achieved two distinctions. He became the first Indian Greco-Roman wrestler to qualify for the Olympic Games in 12 years. And he is, as a 98kg-class wrestler, the heaviest among the Indian fighters heading to Rio. Hardeeps first achievement brought relief to Indias small Greco-Roman wrestling community. The second factoid no doubt will cause much mirth.Hardeeps 98kg Greco-Roman event is the highest weight category for Indian boxers, wrestlers and the sole judoka in Rio. His event will take place on August 16. After his Rio qualification came through in March, Hardeep was joined two months later by 85kg middleweight Ravinder Khatri.Before Hardeep, 26, and Khatri, 24, only 10 Indian Greco-Roman wrestlers have competed at the Olympics, the last being 60kg featherweight Mukesh Khatri in 2004. They are a rare species, because it is freestylers, fresh out of Indias traditional akharas, who have qualified and competed in large numbers through Indias Olympic history.Hardeep himself was a freestyle wrestler who shifted to Greco-Roman as a 19-year-old three years into competitive wrestling after a knee injury. His national Greco-Roman coach Kuldeep Singh says this is a transition that is possible to make. A freestyle wrestler who has good holding power, strong shoulders and lateral muscles can switch over, says Kuldeep. Hardeep has been with me from 2011 and we always had a lot of hope in him.The primary difference between freestyle and Greco-Roman is that the latter allows tackles and holds only above the waist, whereas in freestyle, the legs also are allowed to serve as levers in both attack and defence.The 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi had breathed life and relevance back into Greco-Roman wrestling in India, the build-up itself, saying Kuldeep, leading to a push towards the wrestling style not considered and Indian staple. Before the Commonwealth Games, Greco-Roman was started in schools, at the university level, he says. I think our Greco-Roman standard will get better in next four-odd years since there will be more competition across categories. India had won medals - four golds, a silver, two bronzes - in each of the seven Greco-Roman weight categories at the 2010 CWG.It was around this time that Hardeep, the son of a farmer in Haryanas Jind district, came into the junior camp and switched to Greco-Roman. I had strength in my hands and arms, and despite the knee injury I found that my body responded to Greco-Roman wrestling, he said. It was tough to switch to at first, but now Ive been fully immersed in it for about four years or so.Hardeep came to the SAI Northern Regional Centre in Sonepat from a sports school in Nidani village, set up by a formal director general of police, Mahendra Singh Malik, and run by Dileep, the villages sarpanch (headman). Hardeep remembers watching the 2004 Athens Olympics wrestling event on TV at his school.Twelve years on, the idea that the current batch of the Nidani Sports School will watch him on TV from Rio delights him. He believes Khatri and his own Olympic qualification has struck a blow for Indias Greco-Roman wrestlers. I think the wrestling community doesnt think now that these Greco-Roman people are just there to make up the numbers, he says. They can actually achieve something - even win a medal.He says Indias two freestyle Olympic medallists - Sushil Kumar and Yogeshwar Dutt - have put a medal within the grasp of every wrestler who has followed them. A path has been laid out, a mindset has changed, Hardeep says. Now people dont go out of the country for a tour. Now we go out for a medal. Every man.The Indian wrestlers at the Asian Qualification event in Astana, Kazakhstan, in March he says, similarly wanted to do more than merely make the trip. They wanted to get to Rio. In Astana, Hardeep won two rounds - 11-0 against Arslan Saparmammedov (Turkmenistan) and 11-2 against Margulan Assembekov (Kazakhstan) - and entered the final, making him eligible for qualification. He conceded the final to Di Xiao (China) due to a knee injury.Yogeshwar competed in Astana too and Hardeep remembered his advice: You have to fight well. Qualification is no big deal, it can be done.Hardeep and Khatri, from the army sports school in Pune, represent a new generation of Indian Greco-Roman wrestlers whose Olympic qualification marks the end of a round of achievements at the Commonwealth and Asian levels. Hardeep was part of the Indian team that won four medals at the Bangkok Asian Championships; he won a silver in 98kg category and since then has been signed up by the JSW Sports Excellence Programme.The difference between Greco-Roman wrestlers from India and other countries, Hardeep says, used to be speed and power. We used to have fewer throws in the past than the wrestlers from overseas, but I think were doing that a lot more now, he says. Our Greco wrestlers come through freestyle and have to make the change.Kuldeep and Hardeep are both passionate when talking about their disciplines virtues and demands. Greco-Roman is seen as more attractive because there are many throws, says Kuldeep. Once a wrestler is lifted, you cant try to defend yourselves by catching or holding your opponents legs - thats when the throws come. Its makes for great drama. It is all about explosive power.Greco-Roman wrestling requires enormous spinal flexibility along with power because throws can be made over ones own back if necessary - by bending backwards and forming a bridge.Hardeep says to prevent being lifted a fighter must build both ground defence and power. You have to pick one quintal weight [100kg] off the ground and throw it down, he says. Or prevent yourself becoming the quintal being picked up and thrown.?It is not a fate that the heaviest fighter in the Indian contingent to Rio can contemplate lightly. New Balance Outlet Online . 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The Canadian squad, skipped by Jennifer Jones of Winnipeg, got on the board first with two in the second end, and followed that with two more apiece in the fourth and sixth ends.The performance of Halifax Mooseheads centre Nate MacKinnon at the Memorial Cup vaulted him into top spot in the International Scouting Services (ISS) NHL Draft Guide on Tuesday. MacKinnon traded places with Portland Winterhawks defenceman Seth Jones, whose team lost to the Mooseheads in Sundays final. MacKinnon had 13 points in four games at the Memorial Cup, including a hat-trick in a 6-4 win in the final. The rest of the top 30 draft-eligible prospects remained unchanged from the previous rankings released earlier in May. "Nathan MacKinnon moves back to ISS #1 after answering any questions we had about him with his dominating MVP Memorial Cup performance", saaid ISS Director of Scouting Dennis MacInnis.dddddddddddd"I have personally been watching MacKinnon since he was a pee-wee, and while his skills have become top 1% in the world, what has impressed me most has been his growing maturity - the bigger the moment, the more hungry he becomes." MacKinnons teammate Jonathan Drouin remained third in the rankings, followed by Valery Nichushkin from Chelyabinsk of the KHL and Sasha Barkov of Tappara of the Finnish Elite League. Another teammate of MacKinnons, Zachary Fucale is the top-rated goaltender with Tristan Jarry of the Edmonton Oil Kings second and Eamon McAdam from Waterloo in the USHL rated third. ' ' '