The only male in India's six-strong wrestling contingent at the Paris Olympics, fighting in a category in which a certain Ravi Dahiya won a silver in Tokyo and coming up from a place, Chhatrasal Stadium, which has already given India four Olympic medallists. The pressure was there, the eyes were on him and Aman Sehrawat used that to his advantage to not let the streak in wrestling break for the country since 2008.
Just 21, Sehrawat has already inspired a nation with his journey having fought his battle with depression after losing both his parents at an early age and that's where wrestling came to his rescue. Sehrawat was naturally disappointed by not being able to get the Gold this time around but given the age and the stage of life he is at, there's a universe to be won and there's no limit.
Last week, Sehrawat sat down with India TV for a freewheeling chat at the Chhatrasal Stadium, the pioneer of Indian wrestling and spoke at length. (Excerpts from the interview (translated from Haryanvi/Hindi)
Q: lt's been a couple of weeks now, has the feeling sunk in yet that you are now an Olympic medallist?
A: The love I have received from the people, so many of them came to receive me at the airport and gave me such a rousing welcome and they come to my room too, to give me the blessings so now I feel like yes, I have done something for the country.
Q: Going into Paris, your debut Olympics, did you have any expectations from yourself or pressure of any kind given that Chhatrasal has given India medallists in the past such as Yogeshwar Dutt, Sushil Kumar and Bajrang Punia?
A: I was under pressure not because it was my first Olympics but because I was the only male wrestler. The hopes were pinned on me as India has been winning medals consistently in wrestling. So that was in my mind too that I have a responsibility now. But my only focus was to give my 100 per cent and that the result will take care of itself.
Q: Did you put any pressure on yourself?
A: I think during the bout, especially against the Japanese wrestler when I lost four points, that's when real pressure hit me. Suddenly, I was like 'the whole of India is watching me' and there was a lot of Indian people in the crowd as well. And I got spent and that bout went in his favour.
In the bronze medal bout, I was a bit careful of it [pressure]. So I just said to myself, don't think like you are playing in the Olympics, just deem it like yet another state-level fight and focus only on the wrestling and ignore the outside noise.
Q: It's been 10-12 years that you have been wrestling now, was there any particular moment which gave you an indication that this is what I have to do for the rest of my life?
A: I think my love for wrestling was always there but when I told my father in 2014 that I have to do this, before coming here. So my father was like wrestling wasn't possible there [in our village] with the limited facilities. To become a good wrestler, I had to be put in a good centre before he left me here with Sushil pehlwan and Satpal pehlwan, unka toh naam suna hi hoya tha.
Q: Tell me about the challenges of having to fight three bouts in a day, physical and mental, because I am assuming that stakes and pressure keep rising with every single one of them?
A: The pressure is already huge and at the Olympics level, it is even more. In the Olympics, winning even one bout is a huge deal. So I think the anxiety or the fear is only until the referee's whistle, once the bout starts, there's no such thing as fear or pressure. After that only my hard work and whatever I have learnt will work.
Q: You mentioned Rei Higuchi, the Japanese wrestler earlier, I am sure there was disappointment as soon as you lost your semi-final bout, but was there just the disappointment or had you started looking forward to the bronze medal bout already?
A: The disappointment was there but the main thing was for myself to fight for bronze, I had to first bring my weight down to 57kg. My weight had gone up a little more than 3.5kg and hence to get it right before 7 next morning, I had to practice for the whole night.
Q: So this second weigh-in happens only in the Olympics or in other championships as well?
A: So in the Asian Championship, you have to do it only once but in Olympics and World Championship, where the competition goes to the second day you have your weight checked twice. In the Asian Championships, all the bouts get done in a day itself.
Q: The Olympics medal is in your hand, you are World No. 2 in 57kg, so many rewards and positions have already been announced for you. How do you see your journey from where you were when you battled depression and have come so far? What is the feeling like?
A: I think just happiness. From what I was and now so much love I have received from the people and their hope in me that I'll do well in the future too. So I am really happy but now there's extra responsibility too as people say 'you're just 21 and you have to bring a Gold in Olympics'. So, hopefully, I'll keep putting in the hard yards.
Q: You're 21 now, what would the 21-year-old Aman advise the 11-year-old self?
A: I would give him only one advice that don't worry, do your hard work and give your best and the result will take care of itself.
