At 21, Sehrawat became India’s youngest individual medal winner in the history of Olympics.Hailing from the renowned Chhatrasal akhadaa, a wrestling academy with a rich history, he provided a glimpse into his mental preparation before the most significant bout of his young career.
“First I thought, I am in the semi-final and I lost six points. Then it hit me that I’ve lost six points in an Olympic bout what should I do now? I told myself that it isn’t an Olympic bout and I’m still fighting at the state level,” Aman told PTI Videos in an exclusive interview on his return from Paris.
“So, I didn’t think of it as an Olympic bronze medal match. Just thought of it as any state level game to get my mind off the occasion,” the star wrestler said.
On how he managed to shed weight before his bouts, Aman replied: “It was not a major issue, we already had plans to cut weight and had some 3.5 kg was increased. So I cut the weight overnight and then I went for the weigh in,” said the 57 kg division grappler, who was found to weight exactly 100 gram less than cut-off mark, the same quantity that famed Vinesh Phogat had exceeded.
On how he felt in becoming the youngest Indian to win an Olympic medal, he said: “Feels great. Now the aim is to change the colour of the medal at the next Olympics (in Los Angeles in 2028). I will work hard for it.”
He also recognized the contributions of Tokyo Olympics silver medallist Ravi Dahiya, who served as his mentor.
“Ravi Dahiya has played a huge role in my journey. We followed his footsteps in training and got inspired by him.”
He is deeply grateful to his brother for caring for him after he lost both his parents at a young age.
“My journey was indeed difficult but my brother Sagar took care of me. Not for once did he let me feel the parental void. He took good care of me.”
Aman believes there is still plenty of time left in his career, and he aims to upgrade the color of the medal he earned in Paris.
“I will try my best to win the gold medal in the next Olympics,” he signed off.
