Paris: Indian grappler Aman Sehrawat clinched the bronze medal in the 57 kg freestyle wrestling event at the Paris Olympics on Friday. In his debut Olympic Games, the 21-year-old Sehrawat secured a 13-5 victory over Puerto Rico’s Darian Cruz, marking India’s first wrestling medal at Paris 2024. Sehrawat becomes the seventh Indian wrestler to win an Olympic medal.
In the match, Cruz initially dominated by taking control of Sehrawat’s single leg, earning the first point. However, Sehrawat made a strong comeback, scoring two points by pushing Cruz outside the blue zone. Despite Cruz regaining the lead by earning two points with a hold on Sehrawat’s legs, Sehrawat turned the tide in the final moments. With just 37 seconds left, Sehrawat added two more points and secured a win with a final score of 13-5.
Earlier in the tournament, Sehrawat faced a setback in the semi-finals against Japan’s Rei Higuchi, who won by technical superiority with a 10-0 score, swiftly moving into the gold medal match. Despite the semi-final loss, Sehrawat continued to fight for the bronze.
Sehrawat’s journey to the bronze medal included a dominant performance in the quarter-finals, where he achieved a technical superiority 12-0 win over Albania’s Zelimkhan Abakanov. He also defeated former European champion Vladimir Egorov by a technical superiority 10-0 in the first round. This victory marks India’s first wrestling medal since the 2008 Olympics.
