Tokyo Olympics / Very small thing, left memories of it on the mat: Wrestler Dahiya on opponent biting him

New Delhi: Wrestler Ravi Kumar Dahiya took the wrestling world by storm with his silver medal win in Tokyo Olympics 2020. Making his debut in the quadrennial event, Ravi had kicked off the proceedings with a win over OE Tigreros Urbano on August 4. He defeated Georgi Vangelov on the same day to make it to the semi-final and also ensured a silver medal victory after defeating Nurislam Sanayev.

While Ravi was elated with the win, he had to fight pain during the bout as the Kazakhstan wrestler had bitten him. Despite the pain, Ravi dominated the proceedings and went on to pin his opponent.

While many would be thinking that Ravi is still irked with his opponent, that isn't the case. Speaking to TimesofIndia.com, Ravi has revealed that wrestler said that sorry to him and that he doesn't have any hard feelings for him.

'Wrestling mein to log jhagde aur maar pitai pe aa jaate hain bhaisaab, ye to choti baat hai' (people get involved in fights, altercations and even physical confrontations in wrestling; this is a very small thing). I left memories of that (bite) on the mat. I continued to feel the pain, of course (laughs), but didn't have any hard feelings for him (Kazakh wrestler who bit Ravi)," Ravi told TimesofIndia.com. 

"When I came for the weigh-in the next day, Sanayev was already there. He came and shook hands with me. I greeted him too, because I had already forgotten everything. He hugged me and said - 'sorry brother'. I smiled and hugged him back. We are friends. We also shared a few laughs on other topics."

The likes of Virender Sehwag and actor Suniel Shetty had reacted to Ravi being bitten during the all-important bout. "How unfair is this, couldn’t hit our #ravikumardahiya ‘s spirit, so bit his hand. Disgraceful Kazakh loser Nurislam Sanayev.Ghazab Ravi , bahut seena chaunda kiya aapne #Wrestling #tokyo2020 #olympics," Sehwag wrote on Twitter. 

"If what I see is true, then you have already won gold in our hearts! You are the true symbol of the Indian Sporting Spirit. #RaviKumarDahiya we are so proud of you!!" Suniel Shetty wrote.

Ravi missed out on winning the gold medal as he lost to Zavur Uguev in the final. But it was a memorable outing for the Olympian, who ensured that India continues its streak of winning a medal in wrestling.

Apart from Ravi, another debutant, Bajrang Punia, also brought home the glory as he won the bronze medal on India's final day in the event.