Indian wrestler Ravi Kumar beat Oscar Urbano of Colombia 13-2 by technical superiority in the men's 57kg Round-of-16 to reach the quarters at the Tokyo Olympics on Wednesday.
Ravi took an early 3-2 lead in the first half. In the second half, Ravi upped the ante and raced to a 13-2 lead. Ravi Kumar will face Bulgaria's Georgi Vangelov next.
Like many of his peers, Ravi Kumar – from Nahri village in the Sonepat district of Haryana – shifted to the iconic Chhatrasal Stadium in Delhi at the age of 10 with hopes of becoming a well-known wrestler.
Always sincere to wrestling, Ravi shone early on the global stage when he bagged a silver medal in the 55kg weight category in the World junior championships in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil, in 2015. He battled a knee injury and had difficulties in getting funds to recover from the setback during his junior days before catching everyone’s eye with a silver medal in 57kg in the World under-23 championships in Bucharest, Romania, in 2018.
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A series of fine performances for 2019 Pro Wrestling League champion Haryana Hammers brought him more attention. He raised his game to take a World championships bronze and an Olympic quota place in 57kg in Nur-Sultan the same year.
A busy wrestler on the mat, Ravi proved his class by winning back-to-back Asian titles in 2020 and 2021, followed by a silver in the Poland Open. Someone whose life revolves around wrestling, 23-year-old Ravi – a big fan of his mentor Sushil Kumar – would like to make his idol proud in the Tokyo Games.
