Ravi Kumar Dahiya, who was a silver medallist at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics hinted that he is likely to compete at a higher category for the upcoming wrestling events, after Aman Sehrawat's bronze medal victory at the Paris 2024 Summer Games.
Sehrawat was the only male wrestler from India to compete at the recent Olympic games, while the women had five athletes, who qualified for the event.
During the Tokyo 2020 Games, two Indian male wrestlers, Ravi Dahiya (silver, 57kg) and Bajrang Punia (bronze, 65kg) had returned from their events with medals.
However, with only one quota for male wrestlers from India for the Paris 2024 Games, the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) decided to send Sehrawat over Dahiya for the Men's freestyle 57kg category.
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Will Ravi Dahiya compete in 65kg weight class after Aman Sehrawat's Olympic bronze medal in 57kg wrestling category?
Ravi Dahiya, who won a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics, had suffered a knee injury during the 2020 games, and as a result, he has been in a process of recovery, to get back to his best fitness ahead of the next event.
Post winning a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games at Birmingham in 2022, he has struggled in all events since then, including missing out on a chance to compete at the Olympic qualifiers, as he lost 14-13 to Aman Sehrawat, in the nationals' trials.
Speaking to reporters at a felicitation ceremony for Sehrawat's Olympic victory, Dahiya hinted that he will return to the mat very soon, after full recovery from his injury.
"I will be back soon. My surgery was done and I am on my way to recovery. You will see me on the mat very soon," he said.
With Sehrawat's success at the Paris 2024 Olympics, where he won a bronze medal in the 57kg category, there have been doubts if both wrestlers will continue to compete in the same weight class, in the future.
Dahiya hinted that he might consider moving to a higher weight class, once he has recovered fully from his injury.
"I will continue to wrestle in the 57kg category at the moment and if needed, I might move to a heavy category like 65kg but for now I am focused on my return," he added.
🚨BREAKING!!!!!
— nnis Sports (@nnis_sports) August 13, 2024
🗣️"Will compete in the upper weight category" says Ravi Dahiya, reacting to Aman Sehrawat's bronze medal at #ParisOlympics2024 in the 57kg Men's Freestyle!
In the last Olympics, Ravi Dahiya won silver in the same weight category.
We have watched Ravi vs. Aman… pic.twitter.com/De8qZTcIkU
MORE: How Aman Sehrawat lost 4.6kg ahead of his bronze medal match in Paris Olympics?
During the same chat with reporters, he congratulated Sehrawat for his bronze medal victory in 2024, as India has now won back-to-back medals in the 57kg category at the Olympic games, after Dahiya won the silver medal in the same category during the 2020 edition.
"It is great, to be honest. We have won two back-to-back medals in the same category. This shows the depth we have in wrestling in our country," Dahiya said
Both wrestlers train at the famed Chhatrasal Stadium which has produced wrestling Olympic medalists such as Bajrang Punia, Yogeshwar Dutt, and Sushil Kumar as well.
"Yes, this stadium has a great legacy of wrestlers. Along with Aman, we have many young wrestlers who practice here, and I am sure the legacy will only grow stronger from now on,"
Dahiya who had mentored the now 21-year old Sehrawat in the past, told the reporters about what he had advised the youngster ahead of his departure to the Olympics.
"I gave a simple advice, and it was to focus on his style of wrestling. We can't control what the other wrestlers do and hence we have to focus on our style and how we can do better," he concluded.
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