Sushil Kumar eager to be at the second Indian Grand Prix

With the second edition of the Indian Grand Prix just a few days away, country's new sporting icon Sushil Kumar says he would love to witness the high speed action at the Buddh International Circuit (BIC) on October 28.

Though he doesn't have liking for any particular team or driver, Sushil said he has been following the sport on the television for a while now.

Asked if he received any invitation from the organisers so far, the record successive Olympic medal winning grappler told PTI: "No, I have not received any invite from the organisers till now. But yes, I would definitely like to be a witness to all the action."

Last year the event saw cricketing genius, Sachin Tendulkar, who is an avid lover of the sport, flagging off the race and it remains to be seen who will set the wheels rolling this year.

Sushil became the new poster boy of the Indian sport after he managed to change the colour of his medal from brown to a glittering silver at the London Olympics in August this year.

His growing stature has fetched him endorsement offers reportedly to the tune of Rs one crore, apart from a Rs 50 lakh offer by a liquor brand, which he happily declined.

Asked why he turned down the lucrative offer, the ever so modest wrestler said: "If I would have said yes to the deal what impact it would have on the younger generation who wants to represent the country at the highest level and treat me as their role model."

As a part of the deal, Sushil was to appear in a surrogate advertisement for the brand.

"Before the Olympics while we were preparing at the USA, I got to know that a famous American athlete has been put behind bars and when I asked somebody why he was imprisoned, I was told that he has taken to drugs and it will send a wrong message to the youth. By this what I mean to say is that such deals do more harm than good to the society," said the 29-year-old.

"I have got great love and respect from all my countrymen and I genuinely believe that doing such an advertisement would not have been a great gesture," Sushil, who endorses the brands like Mountain Dew, Eicher tractors, Ralson Tyres and National Egg Coordination Committee (NECC), said.

Asked about the future events and whether he was going to be a part of the upcoming Wrestling Nationals, Sushil said he was not intimated about the event by the federation (Wrestling Federation of India) so far but added that it would be too hard for him to be a part of the event.

"I have not been intimated about the event so far but I believe even the federation realises that it would be a bit hard on us particularly after going through the strenuous practise for the Olympics," he said.

He added that action will only begin for him in the new year as there were no major engagements left in the season now.