Grappler Ravi ready for senior debut

Vinayak Padmadeo
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, April 19

Ravi Kumar still remembers the day he set foot in an airplane for the first time. The year was 2013 and Ravi took his maiden flight to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, to participate in a sub-junior wrestling tournament. 

Nine years later, Ravi, who hails from Nahri village in Sonepat, Haryana, is primed to make his senior international debut, at the Asian Championships to be held in Xi’an, China, from April 23 to 29.

Ravi was initiated into the sport by his uncle Rakesh, who was a regular in the dangal scene. His farmer father Rajesh tends to their three hectares of land. Ravi’s big break came a decade ago when he shifted to New Delhi to train at the famed Chhatrasal Stadium akhada, home to India’s only two-time Olympics medallist Sushil Kumar.

“I can’t say that there was a major struggle for me in terms of supplements, milk and ghee,” Ravi said. “My family used to send me regular supplies. My coaches supported me in whatever way they could. And now we have a big sponsor in TATA, so everything is taken care of,” he added.

Next big thing

Despite it being his first international tour, Ravi had won a silver medal in Mongolia. “I wasn’t afraid about traveling abroad. The only thing on my mind was to win a medal as I was touring for the first time,” the 21-year-old said. “But I also felt good about it as I had never thought that I would travel on a plane ever,” he added.

Not only was he calm about his first foreign journey, he was also unfazed about the kind of food there, which has been a common complaint from many wrestlers. “You have to adjust to the surroundings,” he said.

Currently, Ravi, who fights in the 57kg weight category, is being talked up as the next big thing by many of the coaches, trainers and even a few referees. After hitting the headlines last year by winning the silver medal in the U-23 World Championships, Ravi’s career has been on the upswing.

He went unbeaten in the Pro Wrestling League earlier this year. In the league, he overcame Sandeep Tomar, who has been the mainstay in the weight category. Ravi again defeated Tomar during the selection trials. Coaches talk about Ravi’s technical superiority, and he wants to prove them correct in China.

“It will be my first senior competition. Hopefully, I’ll do something worthwhile there as I have worked hard for this,” Ravi said.