Ravi Dahiya will be a happy man today. He has achieved the feat that his idol Sushil Kumar managed back in 2012 - to reach the final at the Olympics. However, when the Indian takes to the mat in the final, a billion prayers will be behind Dahiya to do what Sushil Kumar couldn't - win a gold medal in wrestling at the Olympics.
The Indian had won his first two rounds with relative ease. He beat both his opponents in less than 6 minutes by technical superiority. This set him up for the semi-final against Kazakhstan's Nurislam Sanayev.
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This bout proved to be a little more tricky. Sanayev did not ease up on the pressure and attacked Dahiya from the word go. The bout was pretty even until the first quarter.
In the 2nd quarter, Sanayev managed to get a leg hold and turn his opponent around 3 times. This won him a total of 8 points. After trailing 1-2, Sanayev took a 9-2 lead with just two minutes left on the clock.
But as they say - cometh the hour, cometh the man. One error was all Dahiya needed to get going. He kept pushing and eventually claimed victory. He reduced the deficit to 9-5 first with a take down. He then brilliantly grappled on to the Kazakh wrestler and got his shoulders down on the mat. For the final point, Dahiya pinned Sanayev and won the match by fall.
Ravi Dahiya vs Zavur Uguev final contest
The Indian will face ROC's Zavur Uguev in their gold medal bout. The ROC grappler has had close contests throughout the tournament so far. He is the third seed in the tournament and will be a tough challenge for Dahiya.
The contest is scheduled to begin at 4:20PM IST and will be played on mat B of the Makuhari Messe Hall on the 5th of August.
Where to watch Ravi Dahiya's final match?
Sony Sports Network has the official broadcasting rights for the Olympics in India. The games will be telecast on Sony Ten 1, Sony Ten 2, Sony Ten 3 and Sony Six. Live streams of the event will be available on the Sony LIV app. Doordarshan will also broadcast all the Indian events at Olympics 2021.
Also read - India at Olympics 2021