Tokyo Olympics: Indian wrestler Ravi Kumar reaches final

Tokyo - Ravi became only the second Indian wrestler in history to make it to the title round at the Olympics.

Indian grappler Ravi Kumar assured India of at least a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics when he stormed into the men’s 57kg freestyle final with a ‘victory by fall’ over Kazakhstan’s Nurislam Sanayev in the semifinal on Wednesday.

Ravi became only the second Indian wrestler in history after Sushil Kumar — who had entered the 2012 London Olympics final but ended up winning silver — to make it to the title round at the quadrennial showpiece.

The Indian wrestler, who is making his Olympic debut, will face the Russian Olympic Committee’s (ROC) Zavur Uguev — a two-time world champion — in the final.

The Tokyo Olympic Games Twitter handle ‘#Tokyo2020’ too got into the act of applauding the Indian grappler’s massive achievement, tweeting, “He was 3-9 down, with momentum and time against him. But he still didn’t lose heart and with a couple of amazing offensive moves, pinned down a two-time world championship medallist. Ravi Kumar, you are a champion!”

It was a victory for the ages as the 23-year-old Ravi — who has trained under Satpal Singh at the Chhatrasal Stadium in Delhi since the age of 10 — turned the bout on its head when everything seemed lost for the Indian. In what was a tight start to the contest at the Makuhari Messe Hall in Chiba, Ravi conceded the first points due to a passivity call but roared back instantly with a two-point takedown.

Leading 2-1 heading into the second period, Ravi was dealt a massive blow when the action restarted, as Sanayev got behind the Indian, caught hold of his ankles and twirled him around a few times to flip the score 9-2 in his favour.

Punia was no match for the American, who used his superior technique and aggressive play to romp home to a 10-0 win on technical superiority and secure a place in the final.