AHMEDABAD
Paris Olympics bronze medallist Aman Sehrawat underlined his class and resilience by claiming the men’s freestyle 61kg gold medal at the National Wrestling Championships, despite battling a painful eyebrow injury, at the Veer Savarkar Sports Complex in Naranpura.
Competing in Railways’ colours, Aman produced a series of authoritative performances to stamp his authority in the weight category. Recently cleared to compete after his suspension — imposed for exceeding the 57kg weight limit at the World Championships in Zagreb — was revoked last month, Aman chose to wrestle in the heavier 61kg division to avoid the strain of drastic weight cuts.
He began his campaign by overpowering Kerala’s Adhit Narayan 12-1 before demolishing Madhya Pradesh’s Lalit 10-0 in the quarterfinals. During that bout, a clash of heads left Aman with a gash above his left eyebrow, resulting in visible bleeding and swelling. Unfazed, the Olympic medallist returned to the mat with renewed focus.
In the semifinals, Aman showed composure and tactical maturity, recovering from a 0-2 deficit to defeat Rajasthan’s Anuj Kumar 13-2. He then capped off a dominant run by trouncing Delhi’s Nikhil 10-0 in the final, wrestling with a heavily bandaged head to seal the title emphatically.
“An injury is part of the sport. It was a good outing,” Aman said after the final, even as he obliged fans by posing for photographs despite the visible wound.
Elsewhere, world under-23 champion Sujeet Kalkal asserted himself as the leading wrestler in the 65kg category, beating seasoned rival Vishal Kaliraman 10-0 in the final, signalling a new era in the weight class following the Bajrang Punia phase.
In the 57kg division, Ankush claimed gold after defeating Atish Todkar 10-0 in the final, while other categories witnessed several one-sided bouts, underlining the depth of domestic talent on display.
Railways emerged as the overall team champions, with Services finishing runners-up, capping a highly competitive national championship that showcased both grit and emerging excellence in Indian wrestling.
