Ravi Kumar Dahiya: My goal is a gold medal at Paris Olympics 2024

India wrestler Ravi Dahiya 23 was not smiling wholeheartedly when he stepped on the podium to receive his silver medal 57kg category at the Tokyo Olympics on August 5 Thatrsquos because he was disappointed at losing the gold medal bout narrowly 57 to Russiarsquos Javur Yuguev And that disappointment was evident during a recent detailed interaction as part of middayrsquos Meet Your Icon series where a bunch of sports enthusiasts got a chance to speak to their Olympic heroDahiya spoke about his wrestling journey his love for milk curds and butter and how the Tokyo silver medal has motivated him to go all out to clinch top honours at Paris 2024 Was the Tokyo Olympics semifinal against Nurislam Sanayev one of the most interesting matches of your career You were trailing him and then in the dying moments of the bout you go for a win by fallIt was a good bout I wonrsquot say that it was the most interesting fight of my life but it was an intense Olympic semifinal bout and reaching the final is a huge thing I went there into the semifinal thinking I will go on and win gold for my country so I was very excited But Sanayev bit you Does that happen oftenNo that does not happen normally but the stage was big it was the Olympics so such things can happen sometimes In such situations people tend to do anything to win bouts so thatrsquos okayYou are among the taller wrestlers in India 5 ft 7 Is height an advantage or disadvantage in wrestlingHeight has its pros and cons The advantage of having good height is that when you do the leg attack itrsquos easier But the most difficult part of being tall is that you tend to be heavier and in wrestling you cannot afford to gain weight Earlier our weight would be checked only once but now with United World Wrestlingrsquos new rules a wrestlerrsquos weight is checked twice once at the weighin a day before the bout and on the day of the bout Maintaining your weight across two days is tough So height has its drawbacks as it gives you that added pressure of having to maintain your weight at all timesWhat is it about Sonepat and wrestling that the place has thrown up so many championsItrsquos not just Sonepat but most champions in wrestling come from north India as the generation there is hard working as they all come from farming backgrounds Itrsquos not that people from other parts of India are not hard working but itrsquos just that I feel that the hard work is in the genes here as agriculture is a tough occupation Also the food in northern India is good You get good milk and ghee in Sonepat and the places around it so that could also be a reason Plus the mentality of people here has changed after Sushil Kumar won his first Olympic medal bronze at Beijing 2008 There are many from Haryana who are inspired by himYour village Nahri only receives electricity for a few hours each day Are you hopeful this will change now that yoursquove won an Olympic medal for the countryWe are hopeful that my village will get electricity for longer periods because at a function there recently Haryanarsquos Chief Minister Manohar Lalji Khattar had asked us to write down our concerns and assured us that he will try his best to solve our issuesA screenshot of middayrsquos virtual Meet Your Icon with Ravi DahiyaTell us about your younger days What was it like to train under Mahabali Satpal who is also Sushilrsquos guruWhen I began training in my village as a kid my parents were my first coaches as they guided me on to the path of wrestling They took me to an akhada where I trained under my first guru Hansrajji Later he recommended that I go to Delhi and helped me train under Mahabali Satpal He told me that if I wanted to be the best then I should learn from the best So the influence of my parents Hansrajji Satpalji and many more have helped me reach here Itrsquos not just one individual but an entire army thatrsquos responsible for the success of any athleteHow shocked were you when you heard about Sushilrsquos arrest Have you spoken to him after winning the silver medalI was very sad when I got to know about Sushil bhairsquos arrest I was not around when it happened It was very unfortunate I saw it all in the news I have not spoken to him yet so I donrsquot know the details But had we been together at the Tokyo Olympics we would have surely brought home the gold medalHow tough was it for you to give your best in front of empty stands at TokyoItrsquos always a great atmosphere when people cheer for you from the outside but itrsquos been a long time now that there are no spectators allowed for any events But the good thing is that the Tokyo Olympics was conducted because at one stage we were not even sure if the Games would go ahead We had participated in tournaments before the Tokyo Games without spectators in the stands so we were used to it And not just me but all athletes got used to it Also since we were performing at the worldrsquos biggest platform we were prepared to face any situation We athletes were only keen to see the Olympics happen and for that we were prepared to follow all protocolsWatch the full midday Meet Your Icon with Ravi Dahiya video belowCould you describe what was going through your mind when you were on top of the victory podium in TokyoThatrsquos a moment which cannot be explained in words because when you see your countryrsquos flag going up and you know itrsquos because of your achievement itrsquos very emotional At that moment you donrsquot realise whatrsquos going on around you Itrsquos an indescribable feelingWhat is your goal for Paris 2024I donrsquot look at expectations or take any pressure As an athlete you have to try to stay normal and give your best But it is these expectations and the love of the people that keeps us going and helps us win It keeps us working hard to try to win a gold at the biggest stage So that gold medal is my goal in ParisWe can see this was a zoom call an India flag on the wall behind you this Tell us about thatIrsquom currently in my training centre in Delhi and this flag is on the wall in my room Itrsquos the India flag and it feels good to keep looking at it at all times The flag is everything If the flag is there we are there and vice versa So it just feels good and therersquos no other specific reason for itYou have teamed up with Smile Foundationrsquos Shiksha Na Ruke campaign Could you tell us about that initiativeI am thankful to them for inviting me to be a part of this initiative These are organisations that work for the betterment of the country Irsquom happy to be a part of such foundations Most athletes come from humble backgrounds and Irsquom no different I feel good that I can do my bit to ensure children from underprivileged backgrounds do not face the hardships that I have been through Itrsquos nice to see them prepare and do well in their chosen fields I met some kids as part of this campaign and I believe we the media the public must all join hands to help give these kids a better future They may not want to become sportspersons or wrestlers but they have the right to choose whatever they want and excel in it Itrsquos important that they are given this opportunity to excelCheck out all the latest news and updates on IPL 2021