Ravi Kumar Dahiya became just the second Indian wrestler to reach an Olympic final when he beat Kazakhstan’s Nurislam Sanayev by fall in the men’s 57kg semi-final at the Tokyo Olympics on Wednesday.
Dahiya was down and out his bout trailing Sanayev 2-9 with little over a minute to play but the Indian, who is known for hitting back in his bouts, did just that by pinning his opponent to achieve the victory.
Both wrestlers started off cautiously but the Indian took a slender 2-1 lead at the end of the first period. However, the Kazakh wrestler turned the tables on him going on a points spree to take a huge 9-2 lead. But Dahiya sensationally clawed his way back and for an epic win to reach the final.
Here are some of the best reactions to the wrestler’s win.
What a comeback by RAVI. Simply magnificent. To the final now #WRESTLING #OLYMPICS #IND
— Viren Rasquinha (@virenrasquinha) August 4, 2021
Let's gooooooo RAVI
— Vinay Siwach (@siwachvinay) August 4, 2021
That was quite the comeback by Ravi against Sanayev to take the win! Now for Deepak to follow suit!!
— Aman Shah (@aman812) August 4, 2021
WHAT A WIN! WHAT A BLOODY WIN! RAVI KUMAR DAHIYA, YOU LEGEND! He beats Kazakhstan's Nurislam Sanayev to storm into the 57kg final.#Wrestling | #TeamIndia | #Olympics | @sportstarweb
— Shyam Vasudevan (@JesuisShyam) August 4, 2021
What are Indian wrestlers made of!!! 🤯🤯🤯
— Hari Priya CR (@cr_hariPriya) August 4, 2021
Mentally so so tough ... first Deepak Punia coming back in the last 10 sec, now Ravi Kumar pinning his opponent after trailing 2-9 in an Olympic semifinal. #Tokyo2020
#Tokyo2020 #Olympics #Wrestling
— Abhijeet Kulkarni (@abk6580) August 4, 2021
WHAT A TURN AROUND BY Ravi Kumar. Sanayev gets a leg hold on Ravi Kumar in the 2nd period and scored 8 points. Sanayev then injured his knee when pushed out and then the Indian wins by fall. He will be fighting for gold in his first Olympics. pic.twitter.com/xzRW2mJNxN
Ravi Kumar! That bout had more twists and turns than a Tarantino movie. Incredible mental and physical strength. Just wow. #Tokyo2020
— Indranil Das Blah (@indranildasblah) August 4, 2021
Ravi Kumar, nearly down and out in the second period and trailing 9-7, wins by fall! He's going to fight for gold! #Wrestling #Olympics #Tokyo2020
— Rohith Nair (@RohithNair) August 4, 2021
Ravi Dahiya will wrestle for gold. He comes back from 2-9 down to pin Nurislam Sanayev of Kazakhstan in the SF of the 57kg freestyle wrestling category at Tokyo. pic.twitter.com/AqXZEqrT5N
— jonathan selvaraj (@jon_selvaraj) August 4, 2021
Silver medal confirmed for Ravi Kumar Dahiya and India!
— Somdev Devvarman (@SomdevD) August 4, 2021
What a performance!
Gold medal possibilities 🤞🏽
Wow. Ravi Kumar Dahiya 🇮🇳 beats Nurislam Sanayev 🇰🇿 in Men's Freestyle (57 kg) #Wrestling Semifinals. Into the FINALS! Silver 🥈 confirmed. Hunt on for Gold 🥇
— Trendulkar (@Trendulkar) August 4, 2021
Ravi Dahiya enters the final of 57kg freestyle. Tremendous comeback win over Kazakhstan's Nurislam Sanayev. First to enter #Wrestling final since Sushil Kumar in 2012. #Tokyo2020
— Mihir Vasavda (@mihirsv) August 4, 2021
#Wrestling
— Ujwal (@UjwalKS) August 4, 2021
Medal assured for India! Ravi Dahiya wins FS 57kg semis by fall to reach final.
#RaviKumarDahiya, you #BEAST!!!!! What a brilliant brilliant turn of events!!! #Wrestling
— Avinash Ramachandran (@TheHatmanTweets) August 4, 2021