Ravi Kumar Dahiya

Some Lesser Known Facts About Ravi Kumar Dahiya

• Ravi Kumar Dahiya is an Indian freestyle wrestler known for winning the bronze medal at the 2019 World Wrestling Championships in the 57 kg weight category and securing a place in the 2020 Summer Olympics. He also won a gold medal at the 2020 Asian Wrestling Championships in New Delhi which paved the path for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

• Ravi Kumar showed interest in the field of wrestling from a very young age, and his father got him enrolled in Chhatrasal Stadium, Delhi, to train under the guidance of the 1982 Asian Games gold medalist Satpal Singh.

  

• Ravi’s father, Rakesh Dahiya, is a farmer who works on rented paddy fields in Sonipat, Haryana. Ever since Ravi showed interest in wrestling, his father was supportive of his dream. It was reported that his father would travel to Chhatrasal Stadium to deliver milk and fruits to make sure that his son was taking a proper diet, and he kept doing this for almost ten years.

  

• Ravi started his journey as a wrestler with the 2015 Junior World Wrestling Championship and won a silver medal in the 55 kg weight category for freestyle wrestling.

• Unfortunately, Ravi had to stay away from the wrestling ring for a very long time after he got injured in 2017, and he was asked to get rest. Later, Ravi made a comeback with the 2018 U23 World Wrestling Championship and won a silver medal in the 57 kg category.

  

• In 2019, Dahiya represented Haryana Hammers at the 2019 Pro Wrestling League and remained undefeated throughout the league.

• During the 2019 Asian Wrestling Championships games in Xi’an, China, Ravi was ranked fifth after he lost the match for the bronze medal.

• Ravi Kumar Dahiya was preparing for the 2020 Summer Olympics, and during the qualifier rounds, he defeated the European wrestling champion, Arsen Harutyunyan, and then the 2017 world champion Yuki Takahashi in the quarterfinal. In the semifinal round, Ravi lost the match to the defending champion and gold medalist Zaur Uguev and settled for a bronze medal in the 2019 World Wrestling Championship.

  

• For his immaculate performance during the different wrestling championships, Ravi was added to the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports’ initiative Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) in October 2019.

• When Ravi was training in Chhatrasal Stadium, his father would often bring milk and fruits for him. In an interview, a senior coach from Chhatrasal, Virender Kumar said-
  

  His family is very poor. Despite that, his father would somehow manage to travel to Delhi with milk and fruits for him. We knew that he was taking loans to pay for his son’s diet also. So when it was needed, the senior wrestlers in Chhatrasal and even the coaches would contribute what they could. We knew this boy was something special”

• In an interview with The Hindu, Ravi Kumar talked about a simple formula that he followed for the Olympics. He said-
  

  It’s the biggest event. But it’s just another event. I have fought with most of the wrestlers in the field. I don’t need to take pressure.”

• While Ravi Kumar spends a decent amount of time practising in the gym and the ring, he also prepares for the fights by watching videos of his rivals’ games. Ravi said-
  

  Everything is available on the internet. I watch my rivals’ bouts and devise my game plans accordingly. Similarly, they must be watching my bouts.”

• In June 2021, Ravi Kumar Dahiya along with Deepak Punia, and Anshu Malik was nominated for the Arjuna Award by the Wrestling Federation of India. ^[4]Sportstar

• In his leisure time, Ravi Kumar loves to play basketball.
  

  

   

• On 4 August 2021, Ravi created history by becoming the second Indian wrestler ever to enter the Olympics final after winning the semifinals due to a foul. Sushil Kumar was the first Indian wrestler to reach the Olympic finals in the 2012 London Olympics. Ravi won the semi-final by foul as the Kazakhstan wrestler Sanayev bit Ravi in his arm while he was trying to pin him down. The video of the incident went viral, and Ravi was left with a big bite mark and in pain. ^[5]Zee News

• On 5 August 2021, Ravi Kumar played the final wrestling match in the 57 kg weight category against the two-time World Champion Zaur Uguev from Russia. After a remarkable fight, Ravi was taken down by Uguev and bagged a silver medal for the country in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.