Before WFI 2024 National Qualifiers, Rohit Kumar was a relatively unknown name but his bout against Olympics medalist Bajrang Punia has put him on the center stage. Hailing from Bijwasan, a small village in the outskirts of New Delhi, Rohit defeated Punia in the 65 Kg semi finals with a margin of 9-1.
In 2021, Rohit represented India at the Wrestling world championship and lost the Bronze medal fight by a narrow margin. This year he’s making a claim for the Paris Olympics berth in the 65 Kg category.
Currently, he’s training in Rohtak under renowned coach Ashok Dhaka (Dhaka is the nephew of Dronacharya award winning wrestling coach Captain Chandroop).
Sports India Show got a chance to talk to Rohit Kumar about his recent performance. He talks about the ups and downs of his career, support from the Indian Navy, and his training.
Rohit Kumar Reacts to His Win
Talking about his win over Bajrang, he expressed his happiness. However, he reiterated the fact that Bajrang is a strong fighter who brought many accolades for the nation and he respects him a lot.
“Bajrang pehelwan ek champion khiladi hai. Olympics medalist hai, world ke 4X medalist hai. Vo hamesha hamari nazro mai champion hi rahenge”
After that, He talked about his close 1st round bout and how he managed to take a win in the final seconds after trailing 3-7. He defeated Vishal Kaliraman after trailing in the initial rounds.
“Vo match mai haar raha tha, phir aakhiri 10 sec ya 7 sec mai 4 number (points) cover karey. 7-3 ka score tha aur mai haar rha tha par last 7-8 second mai 4 number (points) cover karey”
Ups and Down After the 2021 World Championship
He revealed that despite putting in hard work he wasn’t getting a lot of good results after 2021. However, he continued to put efforts in the Akhada.
Support of Indian Navy
He said that Indian navy has supported him since 2021 after he won a medal at the national level. And he regularly trains with Navy’s athletes like Naveen Malik (74 KG Commonwealth Gold Medalist) and also trains under Navy’s wrestling coach Kuldeep Singh.
What lies ahead?
Rohit Kumar managed to beat Bajrang in the 65 Kg semi final but lost the finals to Surjeet Kalal. Surjeet will be going to the Asian qualifiers in Bishkek. However, Rohit still has two more chances to make it in the Paris Olympics. And he is confident that he will give his ‘100 %’ in the coming challenges.
Read More: Bajrang Punia and Ravi Dahiya to miss Paris Olympics; Fans react
