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regular-article-logo Friday, 22 November 2024

Asiad berth eludes Olympic silver medallist Ravi Dahiya

Fast and furious Todkar consistently dodged Dahiya by moving swiftly from under his arms to move back for take-down moves

PTI New Delhi Published 24.07.23, 09:54 AM
Ravi Dahiya.

Ravi Dahiya. File photo

Unheralded Atish Todkar caused a huge upset by knocking out Olympic silver medallist Ravi Dahiya with a sensational 'pin' but it was unflappable Aman Sehrawat, who won the 57kg trials to qualify for the Asian Games here on Sunday.

It was not just the shock result but the manner in which Maharashtra's Todkar went about his business against the decorated Dahiya that created a flutter at the IG Stadium early in the day.

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The scorecard reading an unbelievable 20-8 and a 'win by fall' for diminutive Todkar left the spectators, the coaches, the referees, everyone present inside the main hall, stunned.

The fast and furious Todkar consistently dodged Dahiya by moving swiftly from under his arms to move back for take-down moves.

Dahiya had a small 6-4 lead going into the second period but from there it was one-way traffic. Two consecutive takedowns and a four-pointer from the edge of the mat that Todkar pulled off had rattled Dahiya.

Using all his might, Dahiya went all out for a pin but Todkar wriggled out and got himself into a position from where he had his opponent's shoulders on the mat.

Dahiya's support staff team said he had recently recovered from a knee injury and lacked mat-time to be performing at his best.

After ousting Dahiya and Naveen (7-3), Todkar later lost to Rahul Aware by technical superiority in the semi-final.

Todkar could not do much against Rahul, who successfully employed the move after taking a 4-0 lead to end the bout early in the second period.

Sehrawat was a bit wobbly at the start with Aware scoring an impressive four-pointer against him but he remained unperturbed to win 9-6. He followed that up with wins by technical superiority against Ankit and Shubham.

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