Olympics: Wrestler Ravi Kumar Dahiya goes down fighting in 57kg final to settle for silver

Wrestler Ravi Kumar Dahiya went down fighting against Russian Olympic Committee's Zavur Uguev 4-7 in the final of the 57kg freestyle category, to settle for a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics.

Uguev started off on an aggressive note, pushing Dahiya out of the mat, to score the first two points. The Indian wrestler managed to equalise, pinning him on his knees but almost immediately Uguev returned the favour to go 4-2 up.

The ROC athlete scored another point, grabbing Dahya from the back and pushing him out of the mat yet again.

With the gap widening, the Indian tried to go for an attack, only to allow Uguev to turn it around and pin him to the ground, thus conceding another two points.

Dahiya managed to win two more points towards the end, raising hopes of a repeat of the semifinal miracle when he came back from a 2-9 scoreline to win against the Kazak wrestler Sanayev.

But Uguev, the two-time World Championships gold medallist, defended stoutly and managed to hang on to the three-point lead to win the gold.

Before Dahiya, four Indian wrestlers have won medals at the Olympics—K.D. Jadhav (1952 Helsinki Games), Sushil Kumar (2008 Beijing Olympics, 2012 London Games), Yogeshwar Dutt (2012 London Olympics) and Sakshi Malik (2016 Rio Olympics).

Dahiya is also the first man to win a medal for India at the Tokyo Olympics. Mirabai Chanu won a silver in weightlifting, P.V. Sindhu won a bronze medal in badminton and Lovlina Borgohain bagged a bronze in boxing.