Real wrestling on the ropes

Last Tuesday was a mixed bag for grapplers.

In Glasgow, durable Swiss lionheart Stephan Lichtsteiner produced a textbook sequence of holds and throws to defend the Juventus six-yard box. But the showcase cut little ice in his homeland. At a meeting in Lausanne, the IOC signalled its intention to axe all Olympic wrestling after the Rio Games.

We mustn’t forget the winners. Undoubtedly, sport lovers everywhere let out a whistle of sheer relief at word that modern pentathlon was safe and street kids from Bangalore to Bogota duly grabbed their pistols, swords and ponies and ran to the pool, now the dream of 2020 was still alive.