The quiet storm. The sobriquet would match the invoice to a tee if one is informed to explain Ravi Dahiya in a single or two phrases.
He doesn’t present feelings, generally making one doubt if he has any in any respect.
On Wednesday, he turned Indian wrestling’s new poster boy by reaching the Olympic closing and his first response was, “Haan, theek hello hai bhaisahab” (Sure, it has occurred, it’s simply okay).
Ravi is somebody who at all times seems detached. No air or the flamboyance of dominant athletes involved sports activities.
If he wins, he doesn’t soar with pleasure. At greatest, he smiles. If he loses, he goes quieter. That’s Ravi Dahiya for you.
However the second he’s on a wrestling mat, he begins to specific himself in the absolute best method. He turns into a special beast.
His lengthy arms, immense power and stamina together with the technical prowess makes him a formidable opponent. It’s tough to breach his defence and cease him from making his strikes.
And it is because nothing pursuits him besides wrestling. He isn’t all for shopping for new garments or footwear, his uncle Anil had informed PTI throughout a go to to his village Nahri in Sonepat district of Haryana.
All he talks about, if in any respect he talks, is wrestling.
For somebody who was by no means billed as a star wrestler, the 23-year-old has made a mark in his personal approach.
He rose to prominence solely when he certified for the Tokyo Video games with a bronze medal successful effort on the 2019 World Championship in Nur Sultan.
Even when he had certified for the Video games, he was not comfortable. He was desirous about his misplaced semifinal bout to Russian Zavur Uguev, who went on to win the title.
“What ought to I say. Sure, I’ve certified for Olympics however there are Olympic medallists from my centre. I’m nowhere,” he mentioned. An image of modesty he was then, and he’s nonetheless the identical.
He had received a silver on the Underneath-23 World Championships in 2015 to provide a glimpse of what was to count on from him.
If anybody doubted his potential, he confirmed his mettle on the Professional Wrestling League when he beat U-23 European champion and in addition Sandeep Tomar, who actually owned the 57kg class earlier than Dahiya’s rise.
There have been just a few who had been nonetheless not prepared to consider in him, saying PWL was not a platform to guage him.
He silenced all of them in 2019 on the Worlds, and has solely grown in stature since. He received the Asian Championship in Delhi in 2020 and defended the title this 12 months in Almaty.
He competed at Poland Open and misplaced just one bout. The World Cup in Serbia was an aberration.
Dahiya is a product of the nationwide capital’s Chhatrasal Stadium, which has already given India two Olympic medallists—Sushil Kumar and Yogeshwar Dutt.
His father, Rakesh Kumar, despatched him there when he was a 12-year-old boy and since then has been coaching underneath Mahabali Satpal and coach Virender.
Rakesh has been toiling laborious within the farm fields, taken on lease, for years however by no means let the struggles are available approach of Ravi’s coaching.
Rakesh would himself carry milk and butter to Chhatrasal Stadium, about 60kms away from his residence, each single day with out fail to make sure that his son will get one of the best weight loss program.
The routine meant Rakesh would get up at 3:30am, stroll about 5km to the closest railway station, get down at Azadpur after which stroll one other 2km to the Chhatrasal Stadium, the place Ravi educated underneath Mahabali Satpal.
After coming again, Rakesh would work within the fields and it continued for 12 years until the Covid-19-induced lockdown halted the routine in 2020.
His son has now achieved one thing that may actually assist Rakesh neglect all his ache.
All of the sacrifices had been price it. PTI
