Aman Sehrawat, 22, who became the youngest Indian freestyle wrestler to win an individual Olympic bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics in the 57kg category, insists he’s not satisfied with his Paris and is eyeing gold at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
For this, he believes, he must adopt an aggressive mindset. “Earlier, there was a big gap between Indian and overseas wrestlers, but not anymore. Yes, we are comparatively less aggressive or attacking and that’s due to our mindset. We need to adopt an aggressive mindset to give out best at that highest level,” Sehrawat told mid-day on Monday after visiting the Lal Bahadur Shastri Vyayamshala Kusti Akhara at Central Railway Workshop, Matunga, where he enjoyed wrestling with some upcoming grapplers.
Sehrawat is part of the Pro Wrestling League’s [PWL] Tiigers of Mumbai Dangal team, owned by Aspect Global Ventures in partnership with APCO Infratech. The six-team franchise-based PWL begins on January 15 in Noida.
“Whenever I enter an akhara, it feels like I’m home. The way all these wrestlers and everyone treated me today, I’m overwhelmed. I remember my first visit to my village [Birohar in Haryana] akhara was at the age of nine or 10. My uncle used to be a wrestler and many youngsters from my village were wrestlers too so I took a liking to the sport,” said Sehrawat.
Recalling his Paris medal, the grappler said: “My aim is to give my country an Olympic gold. I’m happy with the [Paris] Olympic bronze, but not satisfied. Only when I win that Olympic gold will I feel that I have done something for my country.”
Sehrawat’s immediate focus is to win the PWL. “Earlier competitions were only held abroad. But now with PWL we have a very good event in India and the young generation will learn a lot by watching the world’s best wrestlers. As a team, we will try our best to win the PWL trophy,” he said.
About his preparations for the upcoming World Championships (in September at Bahrain) and Asian Games (at Japan in September-October) Sehrawat added: “I’m preparing under my Dronacharya Awardee coach Lalit Kumar and his team. We’re working hard for that 2028 Olympic goal, but before that, there’s the Asian Games and there will be trials for that in July or August, so I’m focusing on that and the World Championships too.”
