Pritam’s devotion to passion pays off
CHENNAI: A chain of unfortunate incidents meant 25-year-old wrestler Pritam Dalal never managed to represent the country in senior international meets despite being in the sport for almost 13 years. He was one of the country’s brightest prospects winning gold in the 2014 Cadet Asian Championship and silver in the 2016 Junior Asian Championships.
He also bagged bronze in the 2016 Junior World Championship. Despite featuring in the Pro Wrestling League a year later, Pritam suffered serious injuries. Issues on the personal front didn’t help him either. A 74kg gold on the last day of the senior national championship in Gonda, Uttar Pradesh on Saturday gave him yet another opportunity to make his international debut. The Wrestling Federation of India has announced that the top two finishers from each weight category will represent the country in the Commonwealth Wrestling Championships scheduled in Pretoria, South Africa from December 3 to 5.
“Yes, the Commonwealth Championships will be my first senior international event,” Pritam said. “I suffered a knee injury in 2016 that forced me out of wrestling for months. My father passed away next year and the responsibilities of supporting the family was on my shoulders. By the time I managed to deal with all these issues, wrestlers, who were competing alongside me, progressed. That feeling of being left behind even forced me to think about quitting the game but my Guru Ranbir Singh Dhaka didn’t let me lose the motivation,” added the Railway wrestler.
The medal is Pritam’s third in the senior nationals. He had won bronze in 2015 and finished second in 79kg in the 2020 nationals held earlier this year. The 74kg category this edition was quite competitive with former Worlds bronze medallist Narsingh Yadav, 2021 Junior Worlds bronze medallist Yash and 2019 Asian Championship silver medallist Amit Dhankar in the fray. Pritam, however, steamrolled his opponents winning two of his bouts by fall and two by technical superiority to enter the final. He continued the momentum in the title clash winning 11-0 against Yash.
“He is one of the country’s best wrestlers these days but injuries and personal issues have held him back. I hope he realises his potential,” said coach Dhaka, who runs Guru Mehar Singh Akhada in Rohtak, Haryana.