Ravi Dahiya wins silver medal for India in men's wrestling

Indian Wrestler Ravi Dahiya bagged the silver medal after losing in the final of men's 57kg freestyle category to  Russian two-time defending world champion Zavur Uguev on Thursday. He became the second Indian wrestler to clinch an Olympic silver. This is India's fifth medal at the Tokyo Olympics and the second silver of the campaign. Uguev got the first point of the bout after a tense start that saw both wrestlers defending really well. Uguev pushed the Indian wrestler out of the playing area twice in the initial minutes of the first round to take a 2-0 lead. Ravi made a good comeback by picking up 2 points but the ROC wrestler immediately went into the advantage as he took 2 points to go up 4-2. Ravi tried to make a comeback in the first period but the score remained 4-2 in favour of Uguev at the break.

Ravi Kumar Dahiya is the fifth Indian wrestler after KD Jadhav, Sushil Kumar, Yogeshwar Dutt, and Sakshi Malik to finish on the Olympic podium. Ravi Kumar joined the legendary Sushil Kumar to become only the second Indian wrestler to win an Olympic silver. Sushil had settled for silver in the 2012 London Olympics.PM Narendra Modi praised wrestler Ravi Kumar Dahiya on winning Silver medal in Tokyo Olympic 2021.

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.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 5, 2021

The Haryana government announced that Dahiya will be given a class 1 category job and a piece of land at 50 per cent concession. The wrestler will also be given Rs 4 crore reward money, as designated for silver medal winners, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar announced.