After Vinesh Phogat’s heartbreaking disqualification from the women’s 50kg event on Wednesday and her unexpected retirement announcement the following morning, the Indian wrestling squad at the Olympics in Paris had some positive news.
The only male wrestler from India, Aman Sehrawat, is in Paris, and he began his first Olympic campaign with a bang, winning both of his previous matches in the men’s 57kg division on Thursday.
Aman inflicted a thumping 10-0 loss on Macedonia’s Vladimir Egorov in his pre-quarterfinal bout before handing Albania’s Zelimkhan Abakarov an even more dominant 12-0 defeat, advancing to the semi-finals.
Aman is now just one victory away from confirming India’s first wrestling medal at the Paris Olympics — which would been the second had Vinesh not failed her second weigh-in on Wednesday by a mere 100 grams after storming into the women’s 50kg final and confirming at least a silver.
Standing in Aman’s path is Japan’s Rei Higuchi, with the two set to lock horns in the semi-finals at 9.45 pm later on Thursday.
READ | Aman Sehrawat Makes Semi-Finals at Paris Olympics 2024
Who is Aman Sehrawat?
Aman is the latest world-class wrestler to emerge from Delhi’s famous Chhatrasal Stadium, the akhada that has produced countless wrestling stars including Olympic medallists Sushil Kumar, Yogeshwar Dutt, Ravi Kumar Dahiya, Bajrang Punia.
Aman was born in the village of Birohar in Haryana’s Jhajjar district on 16 July 2003. His life began on a tragic note as he lost both of his parents when he was 11, and it was his grandfather who played a major role in helping the young lad recover from the devastating losses.
Aman, who has a younger sister as well, was later admitted to the Chhatrasal Stadium after expressing interest in mud wrestling at an early age, and has called the iconic akhada his home ever since. He would name Sushil, who won bronze in Beijing 2008 and silver in London 2012, as his childhood hero and the reason why he got into wrestling in the first place.
Aman made his first big impression by winning gold in the 2019 Asian Cadet Championships in Nur-Sultan. Two years later, he would win the National Championships for the first time while training under Lalit Kumar. And in 2022, Aman would become the first Indian to win gold at the U-23 World Championships.
He had a solid run in 2023 as well — winning gold in the Asian Championships in Astana as well as bronze in the Hangzhou Asian Games. More recently, he became the only Indian male wrestler to win Paris 2024 quota during the World Olympic Qualifiers, and was eventually preferred over Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Ravi Dahiya for the men’s 57kg event.
Get the latest news updates and stay informed with FELA NEWS!
Source: Firstpost
