Asian Wrestling Championship: Ravi Kumar sets sights on winning gold

Ravi Kumar Dahiya, who won bronze at the World Wrestling Championships, says an Asian gold would be good preparation for Tokyo Olympics.

Ravi Kumar Dahiya targets Asian Championship gold after winning bronze at the World Wrestling Championship.

The 2019 World Wrestling Championship bronze medallist Ravi Kumar Dahiya is gunning for his maiden continental title at the upcoming Asian Wrestling Championships to be held in New Delhi from February 18 to 23. He also won a gold medal in the 61kg weight category of the recently concluded Rome Ranking series.

“I am aiming for Gold at the Olympics and the Asian Wrestling Championships will help me prepare better ahead of Tokyo. I plan to keep working hard and not be a victim of any injury,” said Dahiya.

The Delhi wrestler said that he is working on his leg defence. “I am facing some drawbacks in my leg defence and I am working especially hard in that area. I need to be stronger on my legs, which will help me defeat my opponents easily,” he said.

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“I am practising hard on a regular basis. I am concentrating hard on basic techniques and watching videos of other wrestlers, which I believe will help me improvise and develop new strategies,” he added.

Dahiya is currently training in Russia with coach Murad Gaidarov. “In Russia, I am practising and training with better and stronger wrestlers. Each day I am fighting new wrestlers, and I am learning a thing or two every day.

"Coach Murad is training me in every way possible. He is putting new challenges before me every day and it’s making me stronger as a wrestler and improving my techniques,” he said.