Wrestling World Championships: U23 world medalist Ravinder in focus as India begins its medal hunt in Oslo
Ravinder Dahiya will be India’s best hope for a medal at the wrestling world championship. The youngster is gearing up for his first senior-level Worlds as India begin their medal hunt in Oslo, Norway starting October 2. Ravinder will compete in 61kg and is seen as a potential backup for Olympic bronze medalist Bajrang Punia in 65kg.
Ravinder's last major competition came in 2019, where he won the U23 world championship silver medal. Since then he has been nursing a shoulder injury.
He will be one of the dark horses in the bracket that will feature world and continental medalists alongside Tokyo Olympians. A few big names are Arsen Harutyunyan of Armenia and Stevan Micic of Serbia.
Ravinder potential road to Wrestling World Championships final
The Indian wrestler will open his wrestling world championship campaign against seasoned wrestler Kim Sunggwon of South Korea. If he manages to win in this opening fixture, Ravinder will face off against Georgia's 2019 world champion in 61kg, Beka Lomtadze.
Also Read: Wrestling World Championships: When and where to watch, live streaming, events timings, full squad
And things only get tougher from there on. His potential opponent in the quarterfinals is former junior world gold medalist Daton Fix of the USA. The American has an easy path to the final eight.
Day 1 Draws:
The #WrestleOslo FS World Championship brackets. https://t.co/2ir4OKYhM2
If Ravinder manages to continue his winning run in the world championships 61kg bracket, his potential opponent for the semifinal is going to be another tough match. He is likely to face either the three-time U23 world champion Adlan Askarov of Kazakhstan or Olympian Harutyunyan.
In the final, the Haryana-born wrestler is likely to face competition favorite Abasgadhzi Magomedov of the Russian Wrestling Federation.
Also Read: Wrestling World Championships Preview: Young Indian team aims to conquer historic Worlds in Oslo
However, the Russian wrestler, who is a junior world champion, senior European champion and Individual World Cup gold medalist will also have a tough path to the top. He needs to overcome potential challenges from Ulukbek Zholdoshbekov of Kazakhstan and two-time junior world champion Rahman Amouzadkhalili of Iran before making his way to the final.
Wrestling World Championship day 1 action kicks off at 10:30 am (local time) and can be followed live on www.uww.org. For live streaming visit WrestlingTV.in