English
Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia), Apr 23: Indian wrestler Ravi Kumar Dahiya made history at the Asian Championship as the 24-year old clinched his third consecutive gold medal on Saturday with a dominating performance in the 57kg category. He defeated Kazakhstan’s Rakhat Kalzhan to claim victory.
Ravi conceded early lead in all his bouts, but as is his wont, bounced back in tremendous fashion to outsmart his rivals in the men’s freestyle event.
The first Indian freestyle wrestler to win three consecutive gold medals at the #AsianChampionships. Ravi Dahiya clinches third successive Asian Wrestling Championships gold.
— Prajakta (@18prajakta) April 23, 2022
It was his second final of the season, having won a silver at the Dan Kolov event in February.
Ravi, who hails from Nahri village in Sonepat, yet again showed his immense physical prowess and tactical superiority when he outsmarted Japan’s Rikuto Arai (VSU) and pulled off a comprehensive 12-5 win over Mongolia’s Zanabazar Zandanbud en route the final.
In the title clash, Kalzhan moved ahead with a take-down and for considerable time did not let the Indian make any move. However, true to his style, Ravi began to dominate the bout with his unmatched class.
He effected six consecutive two-pointers and in-between saved himself from a left-leg attack to finish the bout early in the second period to secure India’s first gold medal of the tournament this year. Ravi had won gold at the 2020 edition in Delhi and in Almaty last year.
Apart from the hattrick of Asian Championship gold medals and the sliver medal at Tokyo Olympics, he also has a Bronze Medal at World Championships 2019.
(With Inputs From PTI)
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