Who is the youngest Indian athlete to win a medal at Olympics?

Aman Sehrawat is the youngest Indian to win an individual medal at the Olympics.

The Olympics has been the biggest stage for athletes to prove their mettle in an event. It has been the same for Indian prodigies. During the Paris Olympics 2024, Aman Sehrawat became the youngest Indian to win an individual Olympic medal.

Aman Sehrawat was 21 years 0 months and 24 days old when he won the bronze medal in men’s 57 kg freestyle wrestling at Paris. He had earlier lost the semi-final to eventual champion, Rei Higuchi. Sehrawat did not lose hope as he made a comeback in the bronze medal playoff.

In the bronze medal match, Sehrawat faced Darian Cruz and won the match 15-3 to create history for India at the Olympics. It was the first wrestling medal for India at Paris Olympics 2024.

Sehrawat was making his Olympic debut at Paris but did not show any signs of nervousness. He started by winning his opening 10-0 via technical superiority against Vladimir Egorov of North Macedonia. In the next bout, the youngster faced Zelimkhan Abakarov of Albania. Abakarov was 10 years his senior and had much more experience on the mat.

It did not matter to the debutant as he overpowered Abakarov with 12-0 to move ahead into the semi-finals. In the semi-finals, Higuchi found his way in the bout and beat Sehrawat 10-0. Higuchi had earlier won the silver medal at Rio Olympics 2016 and could not compete at Tokyo 2020 because he was 50 grams overweight.

While Higuchi went on to win the gold, Sehrawat won the bronze medal and set an Olympic record for India. It was India’s sixth medal overall at Paris Olympics 2024.

The 21-year-old had earlier won the gold at the Asian championships in 2023 and the silver in Asian games in 2022. He had also won the gold in world under 23 championships in 2022. Sehrawat has now made a legacy in the wrestling arena.

Despite being the only male wrestler from the Indian contingent at Paris, the Birohar born star has made sure the wrestling contingent did not return home empty handed. Sehrawat will be welcomed home with celebrations as his efforts on the mat certainly instilled hopes in billions back at home in India.

Also Read: Who is the oldest Indian athlete to win a medal at Olympics?

He became India’s eighth wrestler to win an Olympic medal. Sehrawat also became the second wrestler after Ravi Kumar Dahiya to win a medal in the men’s 57 kg freestyle division. Dahiya had won the silver medal in the same weight division at Tokyo 2020 Olympics. 

Sehrawat has just began his senior career and already has an Olympic medal to his name. He will be looking to break more records and pin down opponents in the coming years.

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