From 2008 to 2020 Tokyo Games, no other sport from the country has contributed to India’s Olympic medal haul more than wrestling.
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Among the many accomplishments, Ravi Kumar Dahiya made in Tokyo, his remarkable comeback in the semifinals will be remembered as a watershed moment among the fans. It was an incredible accomplishment, but his dream run meant more to Indian wrestling as a whole than it does to the player. He is the latest wrestler to keep the Indian flag flying high at the Olympics. The 23-year-old may have lost his gold medal match on Thursday, but his silver medal helps to maintain Indian wrestling’s recent love affair with the Olympics. This is the fourth successive Games, where an Indian has won at least one medal. It started with Sushil Kumar’s bronze at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Fast forward thirteen years and India has five Olympic medals – two silver and three bronze – in the period.
In total, the country has six medals, with Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav winning India’s first medal – a bronze – in the 1952 Games. KD Jadhav might have been the inspirational pioneer to open India’s account in wrestling at the Olympics. However, it took the country another 56 years to win its second Olympic medal. When Sushil defied the odds to claim the bronze at the Beijing Games, the floodgates opened for the nation. From 2008 to 2020 Tokyo Games, no other sport from the country has contributed to India’s Olympic medal haul more than wrestling. In that period, shooting and badminton both won three medals each.
It was a long wait for India since KD Jadhav’s exploits at the 1952 Helsinki Games to grab an Olympic medal in wrestling. Many wrestlers have tried and failed in that period. After a long wait, India found the one to break the barren run – Sushil Kumar. At the Beijing Games, he lost in the first round to Andriy Stadnik of the 66kg freestyle event, however, the Indian got a second bite at the cherry through the repechage round after his opponent reached the final. This time, Sushil made the most of his opportunity, defeating Kazakhstan’s Leonid Spiridonov to win his first Olympic medal and India’s first wrestling medal after 56 years.
He became a national hero and an inspiration to many. Sushil’s incredible feat at Beijing Games paved the way for more Olympic medals in the sport. India won two more wrestling medals in the next Olympics at the 2012 London Games. Yogeshwar Dutt won the bronze medal in the 60 kg category, while Sushil himself upgraded his 2008 Beijing bronze to silver in the English capital.
In 2012, Sushil’s semifinal clash against Kazakhastan’s Akzhurek Tanatarov is considered one of the most memorable matches in the nation’s Olympic history. He came from behind to secure a historic medal as he etched his name in Indian sporting history. Ahead of the final against Japan’s Tatuhiro Yonemitsu, Sushil tried to overcome a bout of diarrhea, vomiting and dehydration but was not able to match his opponent. He didn’t win gold, but he did become the first Indian wrestler to win an Olympic silver medal.
Four years later, the country found an unlikely medal winner from this discipline – Sakshi Malik. Going into the 2016 Rio Games, Abhinav Bindra, Jitu Rai, Sania Mirza, Vinesh Phogat, Saina Nehwal, among others were the frontrunners for medals. Sakshi, on the other hand, was expected to take in the experience and build on it as she progressed in her career.
But with many big names in other disciplines failing to live up to their expectations, attention turned to wrestling. However, it was heartbreak for Indian women’s main medal hopeful Vinesh Phogat, who was forced to concede her 48kg bout against China’s Yanan Sun due to an injury. The nation wept with Vinesh and India’s chances of a medal in wrestling – atleast from the female category – seemed to be over. After witnessing her colleague Vinesh being stretchered out, the burden was on Sakshi to deliver, and the Indian wrestler did not disappoint, emerging as the unlikely medal winner.
By the time the wrestlers took the mat in Tokyo, Indian athletes had already surpassed their medal total from the 2016 Rio Olympics. Ravi Kumar Dahiya was coming into the Games after winning the 2019 World Championship bronze and successive Asian Championship gold in 2020 and earlier this year. He was a medal contender heading into the Games, but few expected him to compete at the level he did in Tokyo.
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. Playing Kazakhstan’s Nurislam Sanayev in the last four match, the Indian found himself 2-9 behind at one point. Ravi Kumar Dahiya, who appeared to be staring down the barrel and in need of a stunning comeback, delivered. He clawed his way back to cut the deficit to 9-5.
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. His remarkable comeback made him an overnight sensation across the country. Ravi, however, was not able to continue that streak in the final, losing to Russian Olympic Committee’s (ROC) Zavur Uguev in the men’s 57kg freestyle category. Ravi Kumar Dahiya might not have won the coveted gold, but his shining silver medal reaffirms India’s wrestling dominance in the Olympics.
