Olympic-bound Ravi Kumar Dahiya pockets silver at Poland Open wrestling
The Indian wrestler was competing in the 61kg category in Warsaw. Ravi Kumar Dahiya has qualified for the Olympics in the 57kg division.
Indian wrestler Ravi Kumar Dahiya settled for a silver medal in the 61kg freestyle category at the Poland Open ranking Series event following a 5-3 loss to Gulomjon Abdullaev of Uzbekistan in Warsaw on Wednesday.
The Indian wrestler, who recorded three wins in the group stages, couldn’t capitalise on his chances against a tired-looking Abdullaev in the gold medal bout at the Arena Ursynów.
Abdullaev, who was on the receiving end of a 10-1 loss in the early round, was better prepared in the final, negating attacks from the Indian grappler with his quick movements.
Ravi Kumar Dahiya, who will represent India at the Tokyo Olympics in the 57kg freestyle division, competed in a higher weight category at Warsaw to avoid the difficulties of losing his weight in time for the Summer Games next month.
In April this year, Ravi Kumar Dahiya successfully defended his Asian championship title in the 57kg.
Earlier in the day, the Indian wrestler stormed through a depleted field to seal his place in the final.
Ravi Kumar Dahiya began the day with a 10-1 win over Abdullaev and followed it up with a 13-8 win against Adlan Askarov of Kazakhstan before easing past USA’s Nathan Tomasello 9-5.
In the semi-finals, Ravi Kumar Dahiya defeated 2018 Asian Games bronze medallist Reza Ahmedali Atrinagharchi of Iran 7-4.
Indian star Vinesh Phogat (53kg) and Anshu Malik (57kg) will be in action at the Poland Open on Friday.