Outlook Sports Desk
To secure bronze at the Paris Olympics 2024, Aman Sehrawat needed to shed 4.5 kg overnight—and he exceeded that, losing 4.6 kg, 100 grams more than needed.
Aman Sehrawat won the men’s 57 kg freestyle wrestling bronze medal match 13-5 against Puerto Rico's Darian Cruz, preserving India's wrestling medal streak that dates back to Beijing 2008.
With this, Sehrawat who turned 21 just two weeks ahead of the Paris 2024 opening ceremony became the youngest athlete of India to win an Olympic medal. After the win, he paid tribute to his parents, living an orphaned life since age 11.
Sehrawat's uncle took him to the iconic Chhatrasal stadium, the school of India's greatest wrestlers. And that's how it all began.
On his way down, he defeated Vladimir Egorov 10(SUP)-0 in first round, Zelimkhan Abakarov 12(SUP)-0 in the quarterfinal, and then Japan's Rei Higuchi handed the setback to the Indian grappler winning the semi-final by technical superiority (10-0).
Ahead of the Bronze medal match, the scales of the weighing machine showed 61.5 kg—an even tougher blow than the semi-final defeat, particularly poignant given Vinesh Phogat's heartbreak from the Paris 2024 Games, where she was disqualified for being just 100 grams over the weight limit.
The challenge of losing 4500 grams overnight (just 10 hours before the mandatory second-day weigh-in) was daunting. The mission 'weight-loss' began with a 1.5-hour mat session in standing wrestling, guided by two senior coaches who asked the grappler to take an hour-long hot bath session, aiding the process.
At 12:30 a.m., he hit the gym, ran on the treadmill for an hour, took a 30-minute break, and then completed five 5-minute sauna sessions.
The weight machine showed they needed to shed an more 900 grams. Therefore, a massage, light jogging, and a 15-minute running session kept Aman busy that night.
By 4:30 a.m., Aman weighed 56.9 kg—100 grams less, the exact amount that had cost India a wrestling medal in the women's category.