Finally, a medal in wrestling for India! The Indian wrestler Aman Sehrawat added another medal to India’s tally by winning bronze at the Paris Olympics. The 21-year-old Asian champion clinched the bronze in the men’s 57 kg freestyle wrestling after defeating Darian Cruz of Puerto Rico by a score of 13-5.
Aman has become the seventh wrestler to win a medal for India at the Olympics and the sixth Indian wrestler to win a bronze medal in the Games.
Bad start but keeping the calm
Aman started his bout on a bad note, losing his first point. Darian went for his legs, but Aman defended well and moved into the passivity zone.
However, Aman bounced back and took two points from a takedown. He took the lead and stayed aggressive. The Puerto Rican wrestler didn’t succumb to the pressure and fought back with a takedown. Still, after giving up two crucial points, the Indian grappler stayed focused and maintained a strong defence, sticking to the mat with a “lizard” defence. Aman had other plans, though, and he picked up speed, taking a 4-3 lead after forcing Darian out. He followed up with another takedown, targeting Darian’s legs. Aman ended the first round with a 6-3 lead.
The winning round for Aman
Round 2 was entirely in Aman’s favour. Darian looked tired, but the match was still not over. Aman extended his lead to 8-5, and with back-to-back takedowns, he clinched the victory with a 13-5 score.
Indian wrestlers Olympic medallists
Bronze Medallists
- K.D. Jadhav: Won bronze at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics.
- Sushil Kumar: Won bronze at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
- Yogeshwar Dutt: Won silver at the 2012 London Olympics.
- Sakshi Malik: Won bronze at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
- Bajrang Punia: Won bronze at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
- Aman Sehrawat: Won bronze at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Silver Medallist
- Sushil Kumar: Won silver at the 2012 London Olympics.
- Ravi Dahiya: Won silver at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.