The recently concluded Paris Olympics once again brought into focus the tremendous power of the human spirit. A prime example among them for us was the success of India’s youngest ever Olympic medallist, 21-year-old wrestler, Aman Sehrawat. Brought up at the La Masia of Indian wrestling, the famed Chhatrasal Stadium in North Delhi, Aman’s path to glory has been harder than most.
He was brought to Chhatrasal at the tender age of 10 from his village of Birohar in Haryana by an uncle after he lost both his parents tragically. While wrestling wasn’t the priority, being at Chhatrasal ensured that Aman would get three meals a day while helping the senior wrestlers. Unlike the other boys, Aman has never felt homesick because Chhatrasal is the only home he’s ever known.
His life revolves around training and competition. “He has almost no distractions. He has a singular-minded focus on training,” says coach Praveen Kumar, one of his coaches at Chhatrasal akhara (wrestling school). “Chhatrasal Stadium is my home. The wrestlers here are my family. If someone comes and asks me to go somewhere for Diwali, I don’t agree. I make it clear that I’m not leaving Chhatrasal. Now people also know that this is my mentality. I don’t like roaming around or going around Delhi either,” Aman says.
Prior to the Olympics, Aman’s talent, hard work and accomplishments earned him the only real concession Chhatrasal provides its best athletes — a prefabricated room that he only has to share with two others. It has its own air-conditioner, though. On one of the walls, Aman has put up a hand-painted poster of the Olympic rings. Below it — in English — are the words, ‘If it was easy, everyone would do it’.
At the Paris Olympics, Aman was placed in a tough group. But, once again, he did what he had to do. And as a memento, he got a cut on the bridge of his nose to go with his Olympic bronze medal. In doing so, at the ripe age of 21, he has joined the pantheon of India’s most distinguished wrestlers including two-time Olympic medallist, Sushil Kumar, Olympic bronze medallist, Yogeshwar Dutt, four-time world medallist, Bajrang Punia, Amit Dahiya, the youngest Indian to medal at the world championships, and most recently Tokyo Olympics silver medallist, Ravi Dahiya.
Aman dedicated his Olympic bronze medal to his late parents as a tribute to the dreams they had for him. And despite the magnitude of his achievement against all odds, he says a bronze medal won’t satisfy him. Knowing Aman, life won’t change much for him. He says he’ll go back to the same room he shares with two other athletes. He’ll continue to train as he’s always done. The only change is in his dreams. “I’m going to win a gold medal next time,” he says. Watch out Los Angeles 2028 – Aman Sehrawat is coming!
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