The curious case of Sudheer Kumar: Why an international medallist got no recognition from the bodybuilding federation

In a country where cricket gets precedence, some of the fringe sports tend to fall much lower down in the pecking order. Bodybuilding is one such sport that falls below the radar of the public eye.

However, K Sudheer Kumar, a bodybuilder from Andhra Pradesh, impressed one and all with his performance at an International Federation of Body Builders (IFBB) event in Ludhiana last month, where he won a silver and a bronze medal.

Despite this win, however, there was hardly anybody awaiting Sudheer at the Secunderabad station where he returned after clinching the two medals. The only person to come out and greet the 23-year-old at the station was his wife. The two had an emotional reunion outside the railway station, a video that went viral on the internet.

Sudheer may have won these medals in an international tournament, beating competitions from countries like Iraq, Iran, UAE and India, ut the 23-year-old is still struggling financially, as he is from a middle-class background.

When contacted about his current predicament, the Indian Body Building Federation (IBBF) pushed the blame squarely on IFFB, saying that the many body-builders are lured to these competitions, which are not recognised by the government.

"This is an unrecognized body. They do not have any connection to the government," said IBBF president Premchand Degra.

The IFBB Pro-qualifiers, which Sudheer had won, is an open tournament, where anybody can participate. Based on the results, the participants are given Pro cards. However, Degra, who is also an Arjuna Awardee, completely disregarded these factors.

"They just come and gather a few of these kids and host these competitions," he said. "They’ll promise you some pro card or something like that, and lure these kids there."

He further went on to explain that the reason Sudheer, who is a gym trainer at the Rajeev Gandhi Memorial Engineering College in Nandyal, has not been able to find a good job, as he has not won anything in a recognised tournament.

"I can assure you, the competition in the recognized events is much more. These kids get real jobs in the Railways, Services, Navy or other such places, based on their performance in the recognized competitions," said Degra.

"But IFBB is just running a business. You can’t just put international in your name and hope that it will all come together. Sadly, that is what they are doing."

Sudheer is another one of those athletes from the country, who are facing apathy despite bringing laurels for his country. Caught between the wranglings of two different federations, the 23-year-old still dreams of becoming Mr Olympia.

Now, it remains to be seen, whether the federation or the government or perhaps some private sponsors come to this bodybuilder's aid.