India's wrestling stalwart Ravi Kumar Dahiya clinched his maiden gold at the Commonwealth Games (CWG) 2022 on Saturday, August 6. Dahiya defeated Ebikewenimo Welson of Nigeria 10-0 in the final of the Men's Freestyle and spoke to Sports Tak in an exclusive interview after his bout, where he said he played the final with a reasonable frame of mind.
"My goal was to win a gold medal in the Commonwealth Games. We never think that we have to win in the minimum time. My target was to give my 100 percent and play the bout with a good frame of mind and I was able to fulfill it," said Dahiya.
The Indian wrestler was in a league of his own and didn't concede any points in the summit clash. Welson, a three-time Commonwealth Games medallist, looked to go on the attack early on but Ravi defended well. A minute into the bout, Ravi Dahiya caught hold of the Nigerian’s legs and executed a fitele to rake in eight points.
A ‘fitele’ is a move in wrestling where one grappler catches hold of their opponent’s ankles and twirls them around in quick succession to score quick points.
Dahiya won the silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 after losing 7-4 to World champion Zaur Uguev of Russia in a keenly-fought men’s 57kg freestyle title clash.
Dahiya also praised his support staff, especially naming Vikrant Mahajan as a major motivator in his career. The Indian wrestler said that he his looking forward to winning more gold medals for India in every international multi-sporting event. He also said that wrestling is a sport where sparring partners are important.
"We have the support of coaches and friends and I am in contact with a motivator named Vikrant Mahajan. He helps me frame my targets and then achieve them. We will always want to win gold for India on every platform. Wrestling is a sport where you need sparring partners. It is a game where having more sparring partners helps in better training for everyone," said Dahiya.
