Happy return for wrestler Ravi Dahiya

CHENNAI: It took a while for Ravi Dahiya to adjust when the Indian wrestler began his campaign at the Asian Championships in Almaty on Saturday. Given the long layoff he had, the 23-year-old Haryana grappler started slowly but got back to his groove with each passing bout to win the 57kg final and retain the gold medal.

“A lot of things were going on in my mind when I took the mat. I was competing in an official international event after more than a year. It took some time to adjust to the surroundings but it’s good that I did that in time to retain the title,” Ravi told this daily after beating Alireza Nosratolah Sarlak of Iran 9-4 in the final.

Incidentally, the 2020 Asian meet was the last international event for Ravi. “I will try to get used to this competitive world again as it’s important to stay focussed especially with the Olympics a few months away. As far as my plans are concerned, it all depends on the Wrestling Federation of India. If they allow me to go overseas to prepare it will be good, otherwise I will train in the country,” added the freestyle wrestler, who made the Tokyo Olympic cut by winning bronze at the 2019 World Championships.

Meanwhile, Karan (70kg) Narsingh Yadav (79kg) and Satyawart Kadian (97kg) added to the country’s medal tally by winning a bronze medal each in their respective weight categories. 

Injured Bajrang pulls out
It was supposed to be a clash of the day with ace Indian wrestler Bajrang Punia taking on Japanese Takuto Otoguro in the 65kg final. Otoguro had emerged victorious in the previous three bouts and the final was a golden opportunity for Bajrang to avenge the losses. However, an elbow injury meant Bajrang had to contend with the silver medal.

“There was pain in his right elbow since the morning. He sustained it during warmup. He somehow managed to compete in the quarterfinal and semifinal but we decided to pull out of the final as we don’t want to aggravate the injury further,” said Shako Bentinidis, Bajrang’s coach.The Georgian also informed that Bajrang will look to compete at the Poland Ranking Series. “Ranking Series in Poland is our next target. We will also look to train in Russia ahead of the Olympics.”