Wrestler Ravi Kumar Dahiya went down fighting against Russian Olympic Committee's Zavur Uguev 4-7 in the final of the 57kg freestyle category, to settle for a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
Reigning world champion Uguev started off on an aggressive note, pushing Dahiya out of the mat, to score the first two points. The Indian wrestler managed to equalise, pinning him on his knees but almost immediately Uguev returned the favour to go 4-2 up.
The ROC athlete scored another point, grabbing Dahiya from the back and pushing him out of the mat yet again.
With the gap widening, the Indian tried to go for an attack, only to allow Uguev to turn it around and pin him to the ground, thus conceding another two points.
Dahiya, 23, managed to win two more points towards the end, raising hopes of a repeat of the semifinal miracle when he came back from a 2-9 scoreline to win against the Kazak wrestler Nurislam Sanayev.
But Uguev, the two-time World Championships gold medallist, defended stoutly and managed to hang on to the three-point lead to win the gold.
Dahiya had lost to Uguev at the 2019 World Championships, too.
The Indian had outclassed Colombia's Tigreros Urbano (13-2) in his opener and then outwitted Bulgaria's Georgi Valentinov Vangelov (14-4) in the quarterfinals.
Before Dahiya, four Indian wrestlers have won medals at the Olympics—K.D. Jadhav (1952 Helsinki Games), Sushil Kumar (2008 Beijing Olympics, 2012 London Games), Yogeshwar Dutt (2012 London Olympics) and Sakshi Malik (2016 Rio Olympics).
Dahiya is also the first man to win a medal for India at the Tokyo Olympics. Mirabai Chanu won a silver in weightlifting, P.V. Sindhu won a bronze medal in badminton and Lovlina Borgohain bagged a bronze in boxing.
