Quick answer: In late 2015, Olympic wrestler Sushil Kumar was announced as the fourth judge and gang leader of MTV Roadies X4, alongside Rannvijay Singha, Karan Kundrra and Neha Dhupia. He took part in the auditions, but left the show before the 2016 journey to train for the Rio Olympics, and Prince Narula took his place.
Sushil Kumar joins MTV Roadies X4
This article was first published in 2015, when MTV announced that Sushil Kumar would join the next season of Roadies. We have kept it as a record of that announcement and added what happened next. It was part of a trend of well-known sportspeople from India appearing on reality television: boxer Vijender Singh had been a gang leader on Roadies X2 in 2015, and wrestler Sangram Singh had been a contestant on Bigg Boss 7 in 2013.
Roadies X4 was the 13th season of the show and was sponsored by Renault, so it was promoted as “Renault MTV Roadies X4” (see our note on how Renault Duster became the Roadies sponsor). Sushil Kumar was named as the fourth gang leader, joining Rannvijay Singha, Karan Kundrra and Neha Dhupia. Each gang leader picked contestants at the city auditions and was to lead a gang through the journey. According to Punekar News, he was at the Pune auditions on 19 and 20 November 2015, where he said the city “would not disappoint” him. For more on how those auditions worked, see our page on the contestants Rannvijay, Neha Dhupia and Sushil Kumar would select.
An earlier version of this page quoted Sushil Kumar at length, via TellyChakkar, on why he joined the show and on being aggressive in tasks. We could not find that interview again to check the wording, so we have not repeated the quotes.
Who is Sushil Kumar?
Sushil Kumar is an Indian freestyle wrestler from Delhi and one of the most successful Indian athletes in Olympic history. His main achievements are:
- 2008 Beijing Olympics: bronze medal in the 66 kg category, India’s second Olympic medal in wrestling and the first since Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav’s bronze in 1952
- 2010 World Championships: gold, the first world title won by an Indian wrestler
- 2012 London Olympics: silver medal in the 66 kg category, which made him the first athlete from independent India to win two individual Olympic medals; he was also India’s flag bearer at those Games
- Commonwealth Games: gold in 2010 (66 kg), 2014 (74 kg) and 2018 (74 kg)
- Awards: the Arjuna Award in 2005, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, India’s highest sporting honour, in 2009 (the award was renamed the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna in 2021), and the Padma Shri in 2011
On 3 October 2010, at the opening ceremony of the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, he was the final runner in the Queen’s Baton Relay, handing the baton to the then Prince of Wales (now King Charles III).
Read his full career in our Sushil Kumar biography.
What happened next: he left Roadies X4
Sushil Kumar did not go on the Roadies X4 journey. He left the show in early 2016 to focus on training for the Rio Olympics, and Prince Narula, the winner of Roadies X2 and Bigg Boss 9, replaced him as a gang leader for the journey. The season aired from 20 February to 19 June 2016 and was won by Balraj Singh Khehra from Karan Kundrra’s gang.
Sushil Kumar did not compete in Rio either. The Wrestling Federation of India picked Narsingh Yadav for the 74 kg place, and the Delhi High Court rejected Sushil Kumar’s plea for a selection trial on 6 June 2016. The full story is in our article on why Sushil Kumar walked out of Roadies X4.
Since May 2021, Sushil Kumar has been an accused in the murder case of junior wrestler Sagar Dhankhar. As of October 2026 the trial was continuing and he had not been convicted. Our biography page has the dated details of the case.
Frequently asked questions
Was Sushil Kumar a judge on MTV Roadies?
Yes. He was announced as a gang leader for Roadies X4 and took part in the auditions in late 2015, but he left before the journey began in 2016.
Who replaced Sushil Kumar on Roadies X4?
Prince Narula replaced him as a gang leader for the journey.
Who were the gang leaders of Roadies X4?
Rannvijay Singha, Karan Kundrra, Neha Dhupia and Sushil Kumar at the auditions, with Prince Narula taking Sushil Kumar’s place on the journey. For their backgrounds, see our page on the Roadies judges.
How many Olympic medals has Sushil Kumar won?
Two: bronze at Beijing 2008 and silver at London 2012, both in the 66 kg freestyle category.
Details checked in October 2026 against the MTV Roadies season records, Sushil Kumar’s career record, 2015 audition coverage and 2016 reporting on the Rio selection dispute.
