India unearth a star in Paris as Aman Sehrawat begins Olympic journey in style with a bronze

It’s been a tough week for Indian wrestling, with Vinesh Phogat getting robbed of what was a silver at the very least in the women’s 50kg event at the Paris Olympics. All it took was a mere 100 grams by which she was found overweight during her second-weigh-in on Wednesday, for her dreams to come crashing down, which would later lead to a shock retirement.

Javelin star Neeraj Chopra and the men’s hockey team helped alleviate the pain to an extent by winning silver and bronze respectively, though in the former’s case there was the slight disappointment of not finishing with a gold medal around his neck, thanks to his own lofty standards.

Paris Olympics: News, schedule, medals tally and more

However, concern over the Indian wrestling team’s lack of medals at the Paris Games continued to linger. Wrestling, after all, had fetched India at least one medal at the Olympics since Sushil Kumar won bronze in Beijing 2008, and a giant question mark suddenly appeared above that streak after Vinesh’s heartbreaking disqualification.

Vinesh has filed an appeal before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) asking for her to be awarded a joint-silver with Yusneylys Guzman, the Cuban wrestler she had blanked 5-0 in the semi-finals before her disqualification. While she awaits the final verdict, which is likely to be announced on Saturday, her chances of flying back home with a medal, conservatively speaking, appear 50-50.

Someone else in the Indian wrestling team had to step up for the nation and help keep the streak alive. On Friday, that someone happened to be young Aman Sehrawat, India’s lone male wrestler in Paris who got his Olympic journey off to a rollicking start with a bronze in the men’s 57kg category.

There were some similarities in how the Olympic campaigns of both Vinesh and Aman panned out in Paris. Both began their campaigns with a bang, only for their progress to come to a screeching halt.

Vinesh had stunned Tokyo 2020 champion Yui Susaki in her opening bout, ending her 82-match winning streak, before defeating Oksana Livach and bossing Guzman. Aman’s victories in his first two bouts were even more one-sided — defeating Macedonia’s Vladimir Egorov and Albania’s Zelimkhan Abakarov 10-0 and 12-0 respectively. What made those scorelines even more impressive was the fact that Egorov had been crowned European champion in 2022 and Abakarov the world champion the same year.

Read | ‘PRIDE OF THE COUNTRY!’: Bhaker, PM Modi hail Sehrawat for winning bronze

His defeat in the semi-finals against Rei Higuchi was just as one-sided, with Aman suffering a 0-10 thrashing at the hands of the Japanese grappler who had won silver in the same weight category in Rio 2016 and would go on to win gold in Paris.

What matters, however, is how one responds to a setback. Solid medal favourites such as shuttler Lakshya Sen appeared set for a podium finish until back-to-back defeats — in the semi-finals followed by the bronze medal match — denied him one in his maiden Olympic campaign. And given the number of fourth-place heartbreaks India had suffered throughout the course of the Paris Games, a feeling of dread would have been creeping in in the minds of the rest of the Indian contingent in Paris and fans back home, and perhaps even in the mind of the athlete himself.

And the manner in which his bronze medal bout against Puerto Rico’s Darian Cruz began suggested Aman certainly was feeling the nerves. He had just about made the weight cut on the morning of the bronze medal match, having to shed excess weight overnight and avoid another Vinesh-like situation.

Aman sheds 4.6kg before medal match: How Indian wrestler cleared weigh-in successfully

And in the bout itself, Cruz drew first blood by latching on to the Indian’s leg and pushing him out of the circle. Aman would gain a three-point lead at the end of the first period, only for Cruz to fight back at the start of the second to narrow the deficit to just one point. At 6-5 with Aman slightly ahead, the bronze medal still was anybody’s for the taking.

Situations like these are where those who aren’t used to dealing with the pressure of an Olympic medal match often crumble, even against unfancied opponents. There’s something about the Olympics that even makes experienced campaigners struggle even if they’ve dazzled at world and continental championships and other events.

Aman, however, was a different beast once he had mentally settled down and regained the confidence that had helped him toy with Egorov and Abakarov in the pre-quarters and quarters. Showing maturity that belies his tender age of 21, and steely resolve, Aman would go on an attacking spree in the remainder of the bout through a series of takedowns and counter-attacks and would raise his arms in celebration in the end while his opponent was reduced to tears at coming so close to a podium finish.

It wasn’t just on the wrestling mat at Champs-de Mars next to the iconic Eiffel Tower in Paris where Aman bounced back from a setback and came out a winner. Life had taken a tragic turn at a fairly early age for him as he was orphaned at the age of 11 — losing his mother at the age of 10 and his father the following year. It can take years, sometimes a lifetime for some to recover from such a cruel turn of events. And had it not been for the support of his uncle and his grandfather, who knows where Aman might have ended up in life?

The young grappler from the village of Birohar in Haryana’s Jhajjar district enrolled at Delhi’s famous Chhatrasal Stadium — the nursery of Indian wrestling that has produced icons of the sport such as Sushil Kumar, Yogeshwar Dutt, Ravi Kumar Dahiya and Bajrang Punia. Inspired by Sushil’s exploits on mats across the world, Aman would start exhibiting the makings of a future superstar during his time training at the iconic akhada.

Read | Orphaned at 11, Aman Sehrawat becomes India’s youngest individual medallist

Aman would then have the Indian wrestling community buzzing after winning bronze at the 2018 World Cadets Championship in Zagreb. One thing led to another, and by the time he won U-23 gold in the 57kg category in the World and Asian Championships in 2022, he was already being painted as one to watch out for for the Paris Olympics. That could be the reason why the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) decided not to hold trials and went with quota-winner Aman over Dahiya, who had won silver in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the same category.

India’s Aman Sehrawat celebrates his victory over Puerto Rico’s Darian Cruz in the men’s 57kg bronze medal match. Reuters

On Friday, not only did he vindicate the WFI’s decision to back him, but he also repaid all the support that he had received from an early age, from his uncle and grandpa back in his village to his coaches at Chhatrasal. It wasn’t just the semi-final defeat that he had bounced back from; Aman standing on an Olympic podium a decade after losing his parents, facing every curveball life had thrown at him along the way with the same steely resolve that he exhibited in Paris is a story that is as inspirational as it can get.

Read | Aman Sehrawat dedicates Paris 2024 bronze to ‘mom, dad, and to the whole nation’

For Aman, though, his bronze in Paris is by no means a fairytale ending, for his Olympic journey has just begun and he has already set his sights on LA 2028.

“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.

“The target was gold but I had to be content with bronze this time. I had to forget the semi-final 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,” Sehrawat said after winning bronze.

Vinesh winning her appeal and ultimately being declared a joint winner of the silver medal will no doubt be the icing on top of the cake for the Indian contingent. Even if that doesn’t happen, though, Paris 2024 will hold a special place for Indian wrestling. All the more so if Aman ends up living up to his full potential and stands on top of the Olympic podium one day.

A Bombay Bong with an identity crisis. Passionately follow cricket. Hardcore fan of Team India, the Proteas and junk food. Self-proclaimed shutterbug. see more