CWG: Ravi Kumar Dahiya grapples to gold in men's 57kg freestyle

The wrestler was in top form on Saturday.

Ravi Kumar Dahiya, competing in the men's freestyle 57kg category, seemed invincible on his way to a Commonwealth Games gold. He won his opening bout in the quarter-final against Suraj Singh of New Zealand, with the scoreline reading VSU (10 - 0) in favour of the Indian. VSU stands for victory by technical superiority. The match lasted for a mere duration of 1:14 minutes.

In the semi-final, Ravi Kumar Dahiya proved to be too strong once again. He was up against Ali Asad of Pakistan and won the bout VSU1 (14 - 4). The final was a one-sided affair too. Ravi was drawn against Nigeria’s Ebikewenimo Welson. Ravi Dahiya locked Ebikewenimo’s legs and rolled him over to gain an unassailable lead of 8-0.

After that aggressive move from Ravi, it was a mere formality for the silver medalist from Tokyo Olympics. The final result was VSU (10 - 0). It meant Ravi Kumar claimed the gold in his debut Commonwealth Games.

A man for the future

Ravi Kumar, 24 years old, was born and brought up in Sonepat, Haryana. Since the age of 10, Ravi took training from the renowned coach Satpal Singh at Delhi's Chhatrasal Stadium. His career path, in some ways, is similar to the two-time Olympic medalist Sushil Kumar. Satpal Singh trained Sushil as well and that too, at the Chhatrasal Stadium.

Ravi’s father worked as a farmer. He would travel from his home in Sonepat to Delhi on a daily basis to deliver dietary items and supplements to his son Ravi. The struggle paid off as Ravi Dahiya secured silver at the World Juniors Championships in 2015. Since then, he hasn’t looked back

Ravi is a three-time Asian wrestling champion as well. He further established his name in the world of wrestling when he bagged the bronze at the World Championships in 2019. In 2021, his silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics made him a force to reckon with at the international level. Given his meteoric rise, a lot more will be expected from Ravi in the time to come.

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