Yogeshwar Dutt had to work hard on his strength to triumph at CWG 2014

Yogeshwar Dutt

Glasgow, Aug 1 (IANS): Indian wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt said Thursday that he worked hard on his strength to win the gold here in the men's freestyle 65kg category in the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

It was the Olympic bronze medallist's first gold medal in a major international event ever since his pet 60kg category was removed by world body FILA last year. The Indian had won the 2010 Commonwealth Games gold and the 2012 Olympic bronze in the 60kg category.

"I had to work on my strength to play in the new weight category which took a lot of time but eventually it gave me good results today as well as in the previous international championship," said Yogeshwar.

Yogeshwar said that a gold medal in an international competition in Rome had boosted his confidence ahead of the Commonwealth Games.

"Winning a gold medal in Italy was also a confidence booster for me as it was a world event. I am happy that our game has given five gold medals to our country which is a very big thing for all the wrestling community," he said.

Yogeshwar found all the bouts in the Commonwealth Games easy.

"All the bouts were very good today but the Sri Lankan wrestler was relatively easy. Though the Canadian opponent was a little tough, I managed to do a very good technical fall in that match. I really enjoyed the way that I finished all my games within two minutes and excelled technically," said Yogeshwar.

The 31-year-old will now shift focus to the upcoming Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea.

"Asian Games won't be an easy task so we have to really work hard in the short time that we have. Though I have won a bronze once in Doha, I would love to win a gold at Incheon. That's one medal that I haven't won yet," he said.