First touch: How Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Ravi Kumar Dahiya took up wrestling
India’s silver medalist Dahiya was born in a wrestling family and was inspired by Sushil Kumar
Ravi Dahiya, India’s latest Olympic silver medalist, was destined to become a wrestler. He was born in Nahri village, of Haryana’s Sonipat district, which had already produced three Olympians in the sport. His grandfather and father Rakesh Dahiya were wrestlers, so were his uncles Anil and Rajkamal.
"Ravi was a very quiet boy. He wouldn't even talk loudly,” his father Rakesh was quoted as saying by ESPN. “But during the 2008 Olympics where Sushil won a bronze medal, he got up and said - he would do the same as well.”
Dahiya had started wrestling by 10, by the age of 12 he followed into idol Sushil Kumar’s footsteps and joined training at the Chhatrasal stadium in New Delhi – the cradle of Indian wrestling. It had already produced two Olympic medallists – Sushil Kumar and Yogeshwar Dutt.
His father is a small-time farmer and struggled financially but he made sure that Dahiya got education in the best wrestling school in the country. Even though the Chhatrasal stadium, run by legendary coach Satpal Singh, houses students and provides for their food, the number of wrestlers in residence means their resources were usually stretched.
Dahiya’s father, Rakesh, would travel every day from the village to New Delhi with fresh milk and vegetables to make sure Ravi had a healthy diet.
Drawing inspiration from the two wrestlers, Dahiya worked quietly and tirelessly. In fact, he even resided in the same room once occupied by Dutt, who won a bronze at London 2012.
“Ravi may not be the best technique-wise but no one can wrestle him for six minutes without giving up points,” Arun, Dahiya’s training partner, hald told Scroll.in in 2019. “I have been with him since he began wrestling. The hard work he puts in is very different.”
His endurance has been his biggest strength on the international stage. It has seen him win medals at the biggest events: bronze at the 2019 World Championship and two gold medals at the Asian Championships (2020, 2021).
Dahiya can never really be written off till the last second. It was evident during his semifinal against Nurislam Sanayev at Tokyo 2020. The Indian scored victory by fall despite trailing 2-9 at one stage.
On Thursday, Dahiya emulated his hero Sushil Kumar, who had reached the final at London 2012, by claiming the silver medal.