New Delhi, 5/8(AO Bureau):Ravi Kumar Dahiya, who decorated another medal on India’s head from the Tokyo Olympics, has become the new ‘poster boy’ of wrestling at this time. Wrestler Ravi, 23, is the first Indian male player to win a silver medal for India in Tokyo. The whole country is saluting his performance. From social media to the whole country bowing down to this ‘Ravi’ who rose in Tokyo (Tokyo Olympics 2020).
Farm on loan, father’s struggle
Ravi comes from Nahari village of Sonipat district of Haryana. Born in a poor family, Ravi’s father used to do agriculture, but he did not even have his own land. He used to cultivate on rented land. Despite financial constraints, his father Rakesh left no stone unturned in the training of his son. Every day he used to travel 40 kilometers from his village to Chhatrasal Stadium and deliver milk and fruits to Ravi.
Wrestling school in Chhatrasal
From the age of 10, Ravi took training at Chhatrasal Stadium in Delhi. In Chhatrapal Stadium, Ravi saw players like Sushil Kumar, Yogeshwar Dutt playing. Ravi became an international wrestler after taking training from Chhatrapas Stadium. Satpal Singh and Virendra Kumar are the coaches of Ravi Dahiya. After starting training in 2015 under the leadership of a well-known wrestler of Chhatrasal Stadium, he first showed his skills by becoming a part of the World Cadet Championship.
Journey to become the ‘poster boy’ of wrestling
Ravi’s talent was visible in the 2015 Junior World Wrestling Championship. He won the silver medal in the 55 kg category. But he also got injured in the semi-finals. After that, he had to retreat due to injury while making a career in the senior category. The injury troubled him in the 2017 Senior Nationals. Because of this, he had to stay away from the mat for some time. It took him about a year to fully recover.
However, after a break due to injury, he returned from where he left off. Ravi won silver in the 57kg category at the 2018 World Under 23 Wrestling Championships in Bucharest. 2020 has also been very good for Ravi. Before Corona, he won gold in the Asian Wrestling Championship held in Delhi in March. Now reaching the Tokyo Olympic final, Ravi became the new ‘poster boy’ of Indian wrestling.