Ravi Dahiya, who won a silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the men’s freestyle 57kg category, is planning to move to a higher weight category.
While the next Olympic weight category for LA Olympics 2028 is 65kg, the 28-year-old has been in and out of competitions in the past few years due to injuries and has been competing in the non-Olympic 61kg weight category.
Speaking on the latest episode of the House of Glory podcast, an initiative by the Gagan Narang Sports Foundation, Dahiya revealed his intentions of moving to a higher weight category besides opening up about his sporting journey.
“I won’t be continuing in the 57kg weight category as, with age, it becomes a very troublesome weight, and I thus have decided to go higher up in my weight,” Ravi said.
Ravi also spoke about his early days of wrestling, his father’s sacrifices, and his admiration for Argentinian football legend Lionel Messi.
Crediting his father for introducing him to wrestling, Ravi recounted his journey from a small mud akhara to becoming an Olympic medallist.
“It was my father who was very fond of wrestling in my family. There used to be a small mud akhara near the fields where he used to do farming, and I used to go and play there when I was really young. It was there that I started wrestling, and initially, it was just for fun, without any intention of taking it up as a profession. My father was really fond of it, and it was only because of him that I got into this game today,” Ravi said.
He then went on to talk about his father’s dedication and added, “Compared to my parents’ sacrifice, I have sacrificed nothing in my life. Our village is 30-35 km away from Chhatrasal Stadium, which is around 70-75 km both ways. My father has been coming here daily in the morning with our dietary needs and still continues to do so today. Coming for one or two days is different, but he has been continuously coming here for nearly 20 years now (since 2007), whether it’s sunny or raining heavily, and that is dedication and sacrifice that motivated me to win international medals.”
The podcast also touched on Ravi’s relationship with Aman Sehrawat, saying, “In any sport, people might be rivals on the mat, but outside, we are all humans, and it has always been like that. Aman is like a brother to me, and that’s always been the case.”