Here is a list of all the Olympic medalist (wrestling) from India.
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Wrestling is among one the few sports that have been a part of every Olympic competition since 1896. In comparison to the other sports in which India competes in the Olympics, the country has an impressive medal haul in this sport. Overall, India has won seven medals in wrestling. We will now take a look at the medal winners for India in wrestling.
Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav, commonly known as K.D. Jadhav is the first athlete from independent India to win an individual medal in the Summer Olympics. He etched his name in the history books by winning the bronze medal in men’s freestyle wrestling at the 1952 Olympic Games. The wrestler even participated in the London Olympics in 1948 and finished sixth in the flyweight category. He was among the few Indian athletes who took part in the torch run of the Asian Games in 1982.
After a 56-year hiatus, India got its second medal in wrestling in the Olympics when Sushil Kumar Solanki clinched the bronze in the 2008 Beijing Games. Post his achievement in Beijing, he became the flag bearer of India in the London Olympics 2012. He lived up to the expectations again as he bagged the silver medal in men’s freestyle 66kg wrestling. Sushil is considered among the best wrestlers in India. The grappler owns three Commonwealth Games (CWG) gold and is the first Indian to win a World championship title.
Yogeshwar Dutt became the third wrestler from India to win an Olympic medal at the London Olympics 2012. He defeated North Korea’s Ri Jong-Myong in the men’s 60kg freestyle bronze medal playoff. He is a two-time CWG gold winner and has won multiple gold medals in Asian and Commonwealth championships. For his accomplishments in wrestling, he received the Padma Shri award from the Government of India in 2013.
Sakshi Malik scripted history by becoming the first Indian female wrestler to claim a medal in the Olympics. She achieved it by defeating reigning Asian champion Aisuluu Tynybekova of Kyrgyzstan by 8-5 in the bronze medal match. Sakshi made a solid comeback to the international circuit and bagged a gold medal in the CWG 2022 after battling injuries and poor form.
Post winning silver at Tokyo Olympics 2020, Ravi Kumar Dahiya is regarded as one of the best wrestlers in the world by many. In his debut Olympics, Ravi won his first two bouts in the games by technical superiority. He even pinned his Kazakhastan opponent Nurislam Sanayev down to win by fall in the last minute despite trailing in the match on points. However, the grappler had to settle with silver after losing to ROC’s Zaur Uguev 4-7 by points. Ravi continued to show his dominance at the international level defeating Nigeria’s Welson Ebikewenimo 10-0 on points to claim the gold in 57kg at the CWG 2022.
Bajrang Punia secured bronze for India at the Tokyo Olympics 2020, by defeating Kazakhstan’s Daulet Niyazbekov with an 8-0 margin. This was India’s second medal in the 2020 edition after Ravi Kumar Dahiya’s silver. Bajrang is the only Indian wrestler to have won three medals at the World Championships (one silver and two bronze) He has won two gold medals and one silver at the CWG, including one in the Birmingham 2022 and numerous medals in Asian championships.