Tokyo, Japan, August 5, 2021: Exciting young talent Ravi Kumar’s dream of becoming the first-ever Olympic champion in wrestling for India was dashed when he lost the gold medal match in the men’s freestyle 57kg category to Zavur Uguev of the Russian Olympic Committee on Thursday, August 5.
Kumar, 23, had to settle for the silver medal with the two-time reigning world champion Uguev winning by a 7-4 scoreline at the Makuhari Messe Hall in Chiba.
It was India’s fifth medal at the Tokyo Olympics – two silvers and three bronze medals - after weightlifter Mirabai Chanu (silver), badminton ace PV Sindhu, boxer Lovlina Borgohain and the Indian men’s hockey team (bronze medals).
It was a close battle but Kumar was unable to stamp his complete authority over the Russian who two years ago had defeated his Indian opponent to win the second of his World Championship titles. His medal is the fourth consecutive medal for India at the Olympics in wrestling.
Kumar had earlier entered the 57kg final by pinning Nurislam Sanayev of Kazakhstan to win the semi-final bout, despite having been down by a 2-9 scoreline with a little more than a minute left on the clock on Wednesday, August 4. He did this in a sensational fashion by pinning both of Sanayev’s shoulders to the floor with seconds left and providing one of the thrilling moments on the mat at the Games.
While winning a silver medal was still commendable, Kumar looked glum during the medal ceremony, underlining his disappointment at not going all the way. “What’s the point of this? I had come here with only one target, a gold medal. This is okay, but it’s not gold,” he was quoted by the Indian Express.
However, the impact of his silver medal was immediate with his village – Haryana Nahari – all set to get a brand-new indoor stadium.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed Kumar’s success on Twitter saying his fighting spirit and tenacity was outstanding.
“Ravi Kumar Dahiya is a remarkable wrestler. His fighting spirit and tenacity are outstanding. Congratulations to him for winning the Silver medal at #Tokyo2020,” Modi tweeted.
The Prime Minister will invite India’s Olympic contingent to the Red Fort in New Delhi, as special guests on August 15 when he will deliver his Independence Day speech.
India’s other wrestler in action on Thursday, Deepak Punia, came agonisingly close to winning a bronze medal in the men’s freestyle 86kg category playoff against San Marino’s Myles Nazem Amine but conceded a takedown in the last 10 seconds to go down 4-2.
