Who is Ravi Kumar Dahiya- Silver Medalist from Tokyo Olympics 2021

Ravi Kumar Dahiya recently became just the 2nd Indian wrestler to have won a silver medal at the Olympic Games. Seeing his performance in previous matches, many people thought that Ravi would create history and clinch a gold medal but the reigning world champion Zavur Uguev brought his A Game and won  7-4 in the men’s freestyle 57 kg final. But still Ravi made India proud with a Silver medal which is not an easy task.

Ravi Kumar Dahiya’s early life

Ravi hails from Haryana’s Nahri village in Sonipat district which has produced many wrestlers. He began wrestling at the age of 10 and was trained by the famous Satpal Singh who had won Gold medal at 1982 Asian Games. His Father Rakesh Dahiya is a farmer who used to travel a lot just to get the best diet possible for Ravi.

Ravi Kumar Dahiya’s career

Ravi had won the prestigious Silver Medal during the  Junior World Wrestling Championship in 2015 . In 2017, he had to deal with an injury that kept him out for more than a year. He returned during the 2018 World U23 Wrestling Championship in Bucharest and managed to win a silver medal. The Indian wrestler also won a bronze medal at the 2019 World Wrestling Championships. He is one of the 8 wrestlers who are representing India at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Ravi remained unbeaten in the 2019 Pro Wrestling League while representing the title winners Haryana Hammers. Ravi was also a part of Indian government’s Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS).He bagged gold at the 2020 and 2021 editions of the Asian Wrestling Championship.

Tokyo Olympics Qualification

In his  World Wrestling Championship debut in Nur Sultan, Ravi defeated Arsen Harutyunyan (European Champion) in the Round of 16 and then went on to defeat former world champion Yuki Takahashi in the quarterfinal. The victory against Yuki secured his qualification for the Olympics. Although, Dahiya lost to Zaur Uguev in the semi-final and settled for bronze.

Haryana Government to Give Ravi Rs 4 Crore

The Haryana Government is known for rewarding sportspersons very well. After winning the silver medal, Ravi will not only get Rs 4 crore reward but also a government job as well as a plot at concessional price.Also, an inddor wrestling stadium with all the modern facilities will be built at Ravi’s Village by the Governement.