Ravi Dahiya has decided to skip the Wrestling World Championship as he did not get time to prepare for the selection trials next week.
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Wrestler Ravi Dahiya has decided to skip the Wrestling World Championship, having not enjoyed enough time to prepare for the Wrestling Federation of India’s (WFI) selection trials next week. Ravi recently won a silver medal in the Tokyo Olympics, making the nation proud with his fantastic performances. The trials are expected to be held on Tuesday with the tournament in Oslo, Norway, from October 2-10.
“I don’t want to be on the mat unprepared. What’s the point in competing without enough practice. So I have to miss the World Championship because I don’t want to go to the trials without enough practice,” said Ravi as quoted by Sportstar.
“I will try to compete in one or two tournaments before the season ends after I begin serious training from next month. The federation is doing the right thing by calling for trials. They know what is best. I don’t mind appearing in trials,” he added.
The wrestler staged a dramatic comeback against Kazakhstan’s Nurislam Sanayev, to make his way to the men’s freestyle 57kg wrestling final in Tokyo. Ravi became only the second Indian wrestler to enter the finals in an edition of the Olympics. The wrestler was down 2-9 at one point but did not give up, pulling off a stunning comeback to assure India of another silver in a worst-case scenario. It is certainly inspirational to note the manner in which the wrestler pulled off a sensational turnaround in the semifinals, having appeared to be staring down the barrel at one point.
With only 50 seconds remaining, Ravi secured a two-point takedown and converted it to a pin, exposing both his opponent’s shoulders to the mat, to win the bout by fall. The wrestler’s remarkable comeback made him an overnight sensation across the country. While Ravi was not able to maintain the winning run in the final losing to Russian Olympic Committee’s (ROC) Zavur Uguev, his exploits will certainly be remembered even in the future.
“It feels like Diwali today. He has made Haryana, our village Nahri & the nation proud. Ravi’s win is India’s win. It’s indeed a big deal to come so far,” said his father Rakesh in an interaction with ANI, after the semi-final triumph.
Ravi entered the semifinals after beating Bulgaria’s Georgi Vangelov in the quarters (14-4) and Colombia’s Oscar Tigreros in the round-of-16 (13-2) by technical superiority.
Ravi is the second major star missing from the Indian line-up with Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Bajrang Punia forced out due to a ligament tear in his right knee as well.
There is further no clarity over the availability of Vinesh Phogat, Sonam Malik and Divya Kakran for the trials. Vinesh was suspended for indiscipline during the Tokyo Games. Sonam was sent a show-cause notice for misconduct. Divya was also sent a notice for remarks by her father against the federation. Both Sonam and Divya have apologised for their behaviour, with Vinesh further tendering an unconditional apology for not wearing the official kit during her bouts.
However, she has disagreed on charges over her refusal to stay and train with fellow Indian wrestlers in Tokyo.
