Aman Sehrawat is the first-ever Indian to win gold in the wrestling U-23 World Championships. He defeated Turkey’s Ahmet Duman with a score of 12-4 to achieve this feat. Following his win, Sehrawat’s coach, Lalit Kumar said, “I told him it’s not enough to reach the final. You have to wrestle for gold. Before you, 6-7 players from India have already won silver.”

Who is Aman Sehrawat?

Aman Sehrawat, an Indian wrestler, was born in a village called Birohar in Haryana’s Jhajjar district in the year 2003. His father, Somveer Sehrawat, and his mother, Kamlesh, both passed away by the time he was 11. Jhajjar district is also the place where Olympic medallist Bajrang Punia was born.

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Sehrawat trained at the Chhatrasal Stadium. After winning the 2021 national championship in wrestling, his coach, Lalit Kumar, said in an interview with Hindustan Times, “He didn’t have many visitors at Chhatrasal. Many other boys have been sent by their families to train at Chhatrasal. Usually, their parents would bring them milk and other food from their home to help with their diet. There was nothing like that for Aman”.

Chhatrasal is also the home of Punia, Ravi Dahiya, and former Olympian Sushil Kumar, who is currently in jail after being charged with murder. “He told me that I need to get closer to the opponent to attack”, Sehrawat said regarding Kumar’s advice to him after he lost the deferred 2020 national wrestling finals. Puniya and Dahiya had both won silver medals at the U-23 World Championship.

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It was Kumar’s win at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which inspired Sehrawat to take up wrestling in the first place.

Lalit Kumar also pointed out that Ravi Dahiya and Sehrawat are both quite similar in their wrestling styles. He said, “They have a very similar technique. They both are very attacking players, who will break the opponent down with their pressure. They both have a left-footed stance too”.