Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a phone call to the Paris Olympic Games medallist Aman Sehrawat. Aman, who became the youngest-ever individual medallist from India, bagged a bronze in the men's 57kg freestyle event on Friday, August 9. The wrestler vowed to bring a gold medal in the 2028 Olympics in his phone call with the PM.
Watch the video of the phone call here:
Aman defeated Puerto Rican professional wrestler Darian Cruz in his bronze medal bout 13-5 to win the medal. He became the first wrestler to bring a medal at the Paris Games. Aman ensured the streak of bringing medals from wrestling did not break at the Olympics. The sport has brought medals at every Olympics since 2008 when Sushil Kumar had bagged a bronze.
While interacting with Aman, the PM congratulated the wrestler for his work in the Paris Olympics. "You’ve fulfilled the nation’s hopes. You made the ‘akhara’ your home, a feat few can match. Your journey is an inspiration to all of India," Modi said in the phone call.
Aman said that he would look to bring the gold in the next Olympics. "It’s been a long time since I won a medal for my country. I had to do something about it. I would like to say to the people of India that I will definitely win a gold for you in 2028," he said.
"The target was gold but I had to be content with bronze this time. I had to forget the semifinal defeat. I told myself, let it go and focus on next. Sushil pehlawan ji won two medals, I will win in 2028 and then in 2032 also," he added.
Aman made his debut into the Paris Games in the 57kg category, the same in which his idol Ravi Dahiya competed in the Tokyo Olympics and had won a Silver. To bring this medal, Aman not only had to beat his opponent, but he also had to shed 4.6 kilos of weight after his semifinal to be eligible for the bronze medal bout. He worked for 10 hours to cut his weight after the evening semifinal and did not sleep after his training sessions.
