"Whenever my country will provide me with an opportunity to wrestle, I will have to do well," says Sushil Kumar, the man of steel from India's wrestling alliance. The two-time Olympic-medallist — whose demand for a trial to pick the right candidate for the 74kg category bout in Rio Olympics raised eyebrows (leading to rejection) — has been nominated for Padma Bhushan. "I have resumed training in New Delhi," he says with shining eyes.

India wrestler Sushil Kumar is determined to leave the past behind. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar