Ravi Dahiya unhappy with Poland Open silver, eyes camp in Russia to work on his leg defense ahead of Tokyo Olympics
Tokyo Olympics-bound grappler Ravi Dahiya is unhappy with his performance in the Poland Open Ranking Series. On Wednesday, the 23-year-old failed to take advantage of a tiring Gulomjon Abdullaev in the 61kg final of the tournament to settle for silver.
Ravi Dahiya had got the better of the Uzbek wrestler, 10-1, in the opening round. The Indian rued that fact that his body did not respond well in the summit clash, which affected his reaction time.
Speaking to Sportskeeda from Warsaw, Ravi Dahiya said:
"It has been tough to find competition in the current situation. WFI is helping us as much as possible. But with big gaps between tournaments and no training camps my body found it hard to react in Poland."
Ravi Dahiya, who sealed his Olympic berth in 2019 in the 57kg category, has found himself more suited to the 61kg category -- which is not an Olympic class. The Haryanvi wrestler plans to shift permanently to the higher weight category after the Games.
The last competition the Asian Championships winner fought was the continental event in Almaty, Kazakhstan, in April.
Against Abdullaev on Wednesday, Ravi Dahiya attempted several leg attacks but found it hard to execute them. But when Uzbek opponent returned the favor, the 2019 World Championships bronze medalist had no answers, and conceded ground. Ravi Dahiya's shaky leg defense had been a concern throughout the tournament.
READ: Anshu Malik withdraws from Poland Open due to illness, undergoes COVID-19 test
In a breakout performance at the 2020 Asian Championships in New Delhi, Ravi Dahiya's outstanding speed, agility and perfect defense, combined with brilliant counterattacks, had made him a force to reckon with. He conceded 10 points in four bouts, but he improved with each passing match, eventually winning the gold with a score of 10-0.
Although Ravi Dahiya agrees that losing is part of sport, he says, the result in Warsaw could have been very different. There were flashes of brilliance. In the second round the Indian wrestler trailed 8-0 against Kazakhstan's Adlan Askarov for nearly four minutes. Ravi Dahiya then switched gears, taking advantage of his tiring opponent. He bagged the next 13 points to march into the third round.
Ravi Dahiya said:
"I had watched his [Askarov's] videos. I knew his style of play, so I just wanted to open the scoring. Once I got two points on the board, I went all out. But my body could not gather the energy in the final. It felt so heavy that I could not move properly to evade his [Abdullaev's] attacks. But it's all part of the sport. Had I been able to give my best, the result could have been different."
Ravi Dahiya may train in Russia ahead of Tokyo Olympics
The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) is planning a training camp in Russia for Ravi Dahiya and Deepak Punia, who qualified for the Tokyo Olympics in the 86kg category. Ravi Dahiya is looking forward to the experience. He says these foreign camps are crucial and competing at the Poland Open gave him an idea of areas he needs to work on.
"In India, we have a different style of training compared to countries like Russia and Hungary. These countries have good in-ground wrestling and leg defense and attacks, it will help me a lot."
If all goes well, the duo will join Bajrang Punia (65kg) in Vladikavkaz for training.
READ: Bajrang Punia and coach Shako devise a master training plan for Tokyo Olympics