I don’t need to take pressure: Dahiya
He has taken professional help for mental training and has done video analysis of his rivals
Considered a medal contender in Tokyo, World championships bronze medallist Ravi Kumar Dahiya has trained his thought process such that it keeps the pressure at bay.
Dahiya, who will compete in 57kg, has a simple formula to approach the Olympics. “It’s the biggest event. But it’s just another event. I have fought with most of the wrestlers in the field. I don’t need to take pressure,” Dahiya told The Hindu.
Dahiya, who retained his Asian championships title and took a silver medal in the Poland Open in recent months, has overcome visa issues to travel from Poland to Russia with fellow wrestler Deepak Punia (86kg) and join Bajrang Punia (65kg) at a training centre in Vladikavkaz.
“We could have trained in Russia for 10-15 days more. But that episode is over now and my training is going on nicely. Sparring with foreign wrestlers is the biggest advantage here. My personal coach Kamal Malikov knows the language and sets up training sessions with different sparring partners,” said Dahiya.
The other aspect of Dahiya’s preparations is watching videos of his rivals. “Everything is available on the internet. I watch my rivals’ bouts and devise my game plans accordingly. Similarly, they must be watching my bouts.”
