Aman Sehrawat put an end to what was turning out to be a devastating campaign for the Indian wrestlers at the Paris Olympics as the young grappler clinched bronze in the 57kg men's freestyle category on Friday, August 9. Aman needed to overcome Puerto Rico's Darian Cruz in his final bout and the Haryana-born displayed amazing composure in his pursuit of glory.
Veteran sports journalist Samip Rajguru caught up with Aman following his bronze medal match for an interview where he expressed his burning desire to bring more laurels to the country at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
"I am ecstatic about my achievement and the fact that I am the youngest Indian ever to win a medal for India in an individual event at the Olympics makes me realise that it is just a beginning and I have to achieve a lot more in the coming years. I have my eyes set on the 2028 (Los Angeles) and 2032 Olympics," said Aman.
Notably, Aman's medal in Paris is India's fifth consecutive medal at the Olympics in wrestling - a trend that started at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and is still going strong. The Haryana-born revealed that he wanted to continue with the tradition and to repay the love and affection of 1.4 billion Indians.
"The entry into the finals certainly releases a lot of pressure. My semifinal loss got me into thinking that I have to somehow deliver a medal to the country and my countrymen to repay the love and affection that they have shown to the sport and to continue the tradition of winning a medal in wrestling at the Summer Games - something which started at the Beijing Olympics in 2008," he added.
Aman is a dedicated wrestler: coaches
Virender Dahiya and Jagmander Singh - the two coaches associated with India's wrestling contingent in Paris, lauded Aman for his stellar achievement and also promised that the young grappler will get a bigger medal at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.
"Aman is a brilliant grappler. He is very punctual and we knew that he was going to do really well in Paris. We are a tad bit disappointed with the fact that he couldn't win the gold medal but we promise that he will deliver the same at the next Olympics," Jagmander told India TV.
Coach Virender revealed that Aman had to undergo rigorous training to ensure that he was well within his permissible weight category in the lead-up to his bronze medal match.
"The biggest challenge in wrestling is to maintain your weight and ensure that you do not exceed the permissible limit. I can understand the pain that Vinesh (Phogat) went through after she was not allowed to compete in the bout for the gold medal. Therefore, we took extra precautions with Aman and made sure that he remained within the permissible limit at the time of his weigh-in, leading into the bronze medal match," said Virender.
