PARIS: “I am dedicating this medal to my parents who don’t even know that I am a wrestler,” said Aman Sehrawat after winning India’s fifth bronze and sixth overall.
The story of Aman is poignant. He battled depression too after he was orphaned at the age of 11. If not for wrestling, he would have been lost in the wasted years of youth resorting to drug abuse. He was born to a very humble family in Jhajjar district of Haryana. Battling mental health issues, his mother took her own life. His father, a tractor mechanic, died a year later. His uncle took care of him and his grandfather introduced him to wrestling.
After Vinesh Phogat’s heartbreak, there was some cheer in the wrestling camp. At the Champ-de-Mars Arena, Aman was poise and never looked in trouble against Darian Cruz of Puerto Rico. The first period was intense but the Indian wrestler secured 13 points well before the six minutes of toil against Cruz (managed only 5). After Neeraj’s silver and the hockey bronze, this has taken India to six, just one short of the Tokyo 2020 medal haul of seven.
Comments are closed.