New Delhi: Tokyo Olympics silver medallist Ravi Dahiya was out of action for a long time due to a knee injury. He came back for the Olympic selection trials earlier this year but lost to Aman Sehrawat who won a bronze medal in the same weight class (57kg) at the Paris Olympics.

Ravi still isn’t fighting fight and is likely to make his comeback next year but he has already set his sights on competing in a higher weight category. The next Olympic weight class after 57kg is 65kg in which Bajrang Punia won bronze in Tokyo. Bajrang, too, lost in the selection trials at home.

“I will not fight in the same weight category (57kg). I will change my weight division but I am waiting to see whether there will be any changes in weight classes (reshuffle for the 2028 Olympics) and depending on that I will take a call,” Ravi told HT.

“It takes time to recover from the knee injury. It might take another two or three months to be completely fit. I am working towards strengthening my muscles. will be back on the mat when the doctor gives me a go ahead,” he said on the sidelines of an event hosted by ‘Superpositivity Foundation.’

Tall and lean in his build, Ravi has found it difficult to compete in 57kg. He is, by many accounts, best suited for the 61kg weight class but that’s a non-Olympic event.

After the Tokyo Olympics, Ravi competed in 61kg in a few events. After the 2012 London Olympics, where men’s freestyle wrestling had seven weight categories, including 60kg, the United World Wrestling did a reshuffle of weights taking out one category each from freestyle and greco roman and adding two weights to women’s wrestling to make it six each in all three disciplines. It is unlikely that UWW will have another reshuffle, and that would mean Ravi coming to the 65kg weight class for LA 28.

The confidence of Ravi has rubbed on to Aman as well. Both are Chhatrasal trainees and they have sparred against each other besides Ravi passing on his experience of competing in the same category before Aman went to Paris.

“He told me not to think of doing anything different at the Olympics. Remember your strengths and don’t get drawn into the tactics of the opponents. It helped me,” said Aman.

Ravi, on his part, was all praise for Aman for his bronze medal effort at the Olympics. “Aman has done very well to become the youngest medallist from India. To win a medal for the country is a big thing. He is very young and there is a lot of potential in him so my advice will be to win a gold medal next time.”

Preparing for LA28: Deepak Punia

Tokyo Olympian Deepak Punia, who unfortunately missed the Paris qualification tournament as he was stranded at the flooded Dubai airport, has taken it in his stride.

“It was very disappointing. I would have easily qualified because the top three Asian wrestlers in my weight had qualified from world championships. We spent three days and four nights in Dubai. I lost the bronze medal in Tokyo in the last few seconds and this time I could not reach the venue for the tournament? So even after putting so much hard work and giving my best on the mat, why are such things happening in my life? It bothered me but then I thought it was not in my hands. My job is to keep performing,” said Punia.

Giving his own example, Punia motivated the Chhatrasal trainees who had gathered for the event. Ravi and Paris Olympics bronze medallist Aman also spoke to the wrestlers and track and field athletes of the centre telling them ways to remain positive and fight negative thoughts in their mind and also distributed a motivational book.

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