CHENNAI: Ravi Dahiya (57kg), the 2020 Tokyo Olympics silver medallist, on Saturday, achieved yet another milestone as he became the first Indian wrestler to bag three consecutive gold medals at the Asian Championships. However, his compatriot Bajrang Punia (65kg), making his international comeback since the bronze medal haul at the Tokyo Games, lost the final to settle with silver at the ongoing continental event in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
Overall, it turned out to be a remarkable day for the Indian freestyle wrestlers as they won medals in all the five categories (1 gold, 2 silver and as many bronze) they competed in. Gourav Baliyan (79kg) won his second silver of the tournament (he finished second in the 2020 edition) while Naveen (70kg) and Satyawart Kadian (97kg) bagged a bronze each. Notably, Naveen was making his first senior appearance at the international circuit.
Ravi, who had finished on top in the 2020 and 2021 editions as well, was his usual dominant self winning all the three bouts with a big margin — two of them including the final by technical superiority.
Despite conceding early leads in his bouts, the 24-year-old Ravi bounced back on each occasion to hand the country its first gold of the tournament. He defeated Japanese wrestler Rikuto Arai 15-4 by technical superiority in the quarterfinal before overpowering Mongolian opponent Zanabazar Zandanbud 12-5 on points to storm into the final. Kazakh wrestler Rakhat Kalzhan moved ahead with an early take-down in the final but Ravi responded strongly and effected six consecutive two-pointers to finish the bout early in the second period. “Ravi is in the form of his life and best bet for the country in 57kg going forward,” coach Sujeet Maan told this daily.
Bajrang, on the contrary, looked rusty and was put on the clock in the final against Rahman Mousa Amouzadkhalili from Iran for passivity. He eventually lost the title clash 3-1. Even during the two previous bouts — quarterfinal and semifinal — he didn’t look convincing. He defeated Uzbek wrestler Abbos Rakhmonov 3-0 in the quarterfinal and got the better of Haji Mohamad Ali from Bahrain 3-1. Bajrang was nursing an injury and that made him miss Ranking Series in Istanbul, Turkey early this year. However, his coach Maan says he has recovered and will get back to his best with time. “Obviously, we all were expecting gold from him but he was competing in an international event almost after eight months. He will only get better with each tournament,” hoped Maan.Gourav won India’s second silver. He dominated each bout including the final, which he lost to formidable Ali Bakhtiar Savadkouhi of Iran on criteria after the score was tied at 9-9.
Exposure trips lined-up
The Indian wrestlers will have a busy season ahead once they return from Mongolia. The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) will organise selection trials next month to pick a team for the upcoming Commonwealth Games and Asian Games.The gold medallists will represent India in the two marquee events while the silver medallists will take part in the World Championships, which is scheduled just ahead of the Asiad in September.
“After trials, the gold medallists will leave for Kazakhstan for the second Ranking Series in June. They will then compete in the Rome Ranking Series in Italy apart from competing in Latvia, Poland and the Grand Prix of Spain. They will either compete or train overseas during these two months before coming back to the country ahead of the CWG,” Vinod Tomar, assistant secretary of WFI, said.