Ravi Dahiya

Picture Credit: Twitter

Indian wrestler Ravi Kumar Dahiya bagged his third straight Asian Championship gold medal after a towering performance in the 57kg category. Dahiya won the title clash with technical superiority against Kazakhstan's Rakhat Kalzhan on Saturday. The 24-year-old had previously won the silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics. Dahiya started all his duels on the backfoot but then convincingly came back in spectacular fashion to take down his rivals in the men's freestyle event.

Dahiya, who hails from Nahri village in Sonepat, showcased his tremendous strength and tactical acumen against Japan's Rikuto Arai (VSU). He then followed with another dominant performance against Mongolia's Zanabazar Zandanbud in the semi-finals where he won by a 12-5 margin. 

In the grand finale, Rakhat Kalzhan took the early advantage with a take-down. The Kazakh managed to hold on to the lead for considerable time denying his Indian opponent from making any progress. However, Ravi analyzed his opponent and started breaking Kalzhan’s defence. 

Then with his unmatched class, Ravi Dahiya took six consecutive two-pointers and averted the threat of a left-leg attack to finish the bout early in the second period of the match. Dahiya’s gold medal also marks the first gold medal for India in this year’s tournament. 

Check the video of Ravi Dahiya’s medal ceremony here: