Wrestler Ravi Kumar Dahiya on Thursday lost in the final to ROC's Zavur Uguev in the men's wrestling freestyle 57kg category in the ongoing Tokyo Olympics 2020. However, he bagged the silver, taking India's medal tally at the Tokyo Olympics 2020 to five (two silver, three bronze).
Meanwhile, he became only the second Indian wrestler to win a silver medal at the Olympic Games.
There were expectations that the 23-year Dahiya would become India's youngest Olympic champion but the reigning world champion Zavur Uguev defended well to win comfortably. Dahiya lost 4-7 in the finals. He had lost to Uguev at the 2019 World Championship also.
The wrestler from Nahri village in Haryana had outclassed Colombia's Tigreros Urbano (13-2) in his opener and then outwitted Bulgaria's Georgi Valentinov Vangelov (14-4) in the quarterfinals.
In the semifinals, he erased a massive 2-9 deficit to pin Nurislam Sanayev.
Sushil Kumar, who is now in jail on charges of a murder, is the only other Indian wrestler to have made the final at Olympics.
He had won a silver at the 2012 London Games, where Yogeshwar Dutt also won a bronze. Sushil had won a bronze at the 2008 Beijing Games.
KD Jadhav had won a bronze in the 1952 Helsinki Games. Sakshi Malik had become the first woman wrestler to win an Olympic medal when she clinched a bronze at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed wrestler Ravi Kumar Dahiya's "fighting spirit and tenacity". "Ravi Kumar Dahiya is a remarkable wrestler! His fighting spirit and tenacity are outstanding. Congratulations to him for winning the Silver Medal at #Tokyo2020. India takes great pride in his accomplishments," PM Modi tweeted.
