Ravi Kumar Dahiya is an Indian freestyle wrestler best known for winning the gold medal at the 2020 Asian Wrestling Championship in New Delhi. This victory helped him secure a place in the Tokyo Olympics 2021.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Ravi Kumar Dahiya was born on Saturday, 12 December 1998 (age 23 years; as in 2021) in Nahri, Sonipat, Haryana. Ravi’s interest in the field of wrestling started growing at a very young age and his father enrolled him in Chhatrasal Stadium, Delhi. He trained under the guidance of one of the most renowned wrestling coaches, Satpal Singh.
Physical Appearance
Height: 5′ 7″
Hair Color: Black
Eye colour: black
Weight (Approx): 57 kg
Family
Ravi’s father’s name is Rakesh Kumar Dahiya. His mother’s name is not known. His father is a farmer who works in rented paddy fields.
Rakesh Kumar Dahiya, father of Ravi Kumar Dahiya
livelihood
Ravi Kumar started his training at the age of ten when his father enrolled him at Chhatrasal Stadium in New Delhi. He started his practice under the guidance of 1982 Asian Games gold medalist Satpal Singh. Ravi made his international debut with the 2015 Junior Wrestling Championships in Salvador da Bahia. In 2019, he competed at the 2019 Asian Wrestling Championships in Xi’an, China. He finished fifth in the competition as he lost the match for the bronze medal. In 2020, during the trials for the Senior Asian Championships, Ravi Kumar Dahiya qualified for the 57 kg weight category by defeating Air Force’s Pankaj by a score of 10–0. Ravi was successful in securing gold medal at the 2020 Asian Wrestling Championships in New Delhi. In June 2021, Ravi Dahiya participated in the Poland Open in Warsaw and defeated Gulomjon Abdullaev in the opening round. However, in the final round, Gulomjon Abdullaev of Uzbekistan defeated Ravi Dahiya in the 61 kg final and Ravi had to be satisfied with the silver medal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfgDkBjwL1g
medal
- Silver Medal (56 kg) at the 2015 World Junior Wrestling Championships
- Silver Medal (57 kg) at the 2018 World U23 Wrestling Championship
- Bronze medal (57 kg) at the 2019 World Wrestling Championships
- Gold Medal (57 kg) at the 2020 Asian Wrestling Championships
- Gold Medal (57 kg) at the 2021 Asian Wrestling Championships
Ravi Kumar posing with the gold medal at the 2020 Asian Championships
award
- 2021: Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award
Favorite
Ravi Kumar’s favorite wrestler is Sushil Kumar.
Ravi Kumar Dahiya posing with Sushil Kumar
Facts/General Knowledge
- Ravi’s father, Rakesh Dahiya, is a farmer and he used to go to Chhatrasal Stadium from his village every day to deliver milk and fruits to Ravi to ensure that he got proper diet during training. He traveled every day for almost ten years to support Ravi’s career choice.
- In 2017, Ravi got injured during a practice session and had to get proper treatment for the injury. He was advised to stay away from wrestling for almost a year. In 2018, he made a comeback by participating in the 2018 World U23 Wrestling Championship and he finished the series with a silver medal in the 57 kg weight category.
Ravi Kumar after winning the silver medal at the 2018 U23 World Championship
- Apart from national and international games, Ravi also participated in the 2019 Pro Wrestling League, where he represented Haryana Hammers, and he remained undefeated throughout the league.
- Ravi Kumar was preparing for the 2020 Summer Olympics for which he fought several qualifier rounds. He defeated European wrestling champion Arsen Harutyunyan in a qualifier match. He then fought against 2017 World Champion Yuki Takahashi and won the quarterfinal match. However, during the semifinal round, Ravi lost the match to 2019 World Wrestling Championship gold medalist and defending champion Zaur Uguev.
- Ravi is a part of the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) initiative, which was launched by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports to encourage more athletes to train well for the Olympics and other tournaments.
- During an interview with the coaches of Chhatrasal Stadium, a senior coach Virendra Kumar talked about Ravi and said-
His family is very poor. Despite this, his father somehow managed to go to Delhi with milk and fruits for him. We knew he was also taking a loan to pay for his son’s food. So when needed, senior wrestlers and even coaches of Chhatrasal would contribute. We knew this guy was something special.”
- Ravi Kumar gave an interview to The Hindu, during which he talked about a simple idea that he is following for the Tokyo Olympics. He said-
This is the biggest incident. But this is just another incident. I have fought with most of the wrestlers in the arena. I don’t need to take pressure.”
- After his training session, Ravi spends some time with his coach and prepares for the fight by watching videos of his opponents. Talking about this, Ravi said-
Everything is available on the internet. I look at my opponents’ matches and make my game plans accordingly. Similarly, they will be watching my fights also.”
- In June 2021, the Wrestling Federation of India nominated Deepak Punia, Anshu Malik and Ravi Kumar Dahiya for the Arjuna Award.
- Ravi Kumar was inspired to join wrestling by Olympic medalist wrestlers Yogeshwar Dutt and Sushil Kumar.
- Apart from wrestling, Ravi Kumar likes to play basketball.
Ravi Kumar Dahiya playing basketball
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn