Orphaned at 11 to India's Youngest Olympic Medalist at 21 - Aman Sehrawat's Journey To Paris Olympics 2024 Bronze

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Aman Sehrawat clinched the bronze medal in the men's 57kg freestyle event at the Paris Olympics 2024 to become the youngest Indian Olympic medalist on Friday (August 9) in Paris.

The young Indian wrestler achieved the feat after beating Puerto Rico's Darian Toi Cruz via Victory by Points 13-5 in the bronze medal match at the Champ-de-Mars Arena. With that, he added the first medal from the wrestling contingent to India's tally at Paris Olympics.

After winning the bout, Aman dedicated his medal to his parents and India saying, "My parents always wanted me to be a wrestler. They didn't know anything about the Olympics but they wanted me to be a wrestler. I dedicate this medal to my parents and to the nation."

Aman's Early Struggles - From losing parents at 11 to depressions

Aman's journey is a very emotional one as the wrestler was left orphaned at 11. The 21-year-old had lost his mother to depression when he was only 10 years old. A year later, his father also passed away, leaving Aman and his younger sister, Puja Sehrawat, in the care of their uncle, Sudhir Sehrawat, and a maternal aunt.

Aman who belongs to a Jat family of Sehrawat gotra, originating from Birohar in the Jhajjar district of Haryana, faced immense personal challenges early in life. Following the tragic loss of his parents, Aman struggled with severe depression, but his grandfather, Mangeram Sehrawat, played a crucial role in helping him recover.

Aman's uncle, Sudhir Sehrawat had also revealed that his nephew battled depression after his mother's passing and even contemplated substance abuse. However, Sehrawat's life took a positive turn when he commenced training at the Chhatrasal Stadium.

He pursued his passion for wrestling, when he was 10, taking inspiration from two-time Olympic medalist Sushil Kumar, who had won a bronze medal in Beijing 2008. He began training under coach Lalit Kumar.

He later rose to fame in 2019 when he clinched the gold medal at the Asian Cadet Championships, and won his first National Championship title two years later in 2021, marking the beginning of his competitive success.

The loss of his parents at a young age instilled resilience and determination in him. His journey in wrestling has not only been a pursuit of sport but also a means to honor his family's legacy and overcome personal challenges.

Aman's Journey to Paris Olympics Medal

After he won his first National Championship title three years ago, Aman announced his arrival at a bigger stage when he won a bronze medal in the 57kg category at the 2022 Asian Games and secured a gold medal at the 2023 Asian Wrestling Championships.

In January 2024, he continued his success by winning the gold medal at the Zagreb Open wrestling tournament, defeating China's Zou Wanhao with a perfect score of 10-0.

He later booked his ticket to Paris at the 2024 Asian Wrestling Olympic Qualification Tournament in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, and became the only male wrestler from India to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics.

At the Summer Olympics, Aman opened his maiden Olympic campaign with a dominating 10-0 win over North Macedonia's Vladimir Egorov in the Round of 16 bout and followed that with a 12-0 technical superiority win over Albania's Zelimkhan Abakanov in the quarterfinal.

The young Indian, however, lost to top seed and eventual gold medallist Rei Higuchi of Japan in the semi-final and had to settle for a bronze medal playoff, which he won by a margin of 13-5 against the Puerto Rican Cruz.

What makes his Paris Olympics success even more impressive is the fact that he had to shed over 4 kilos to make weight for the bronze medal match, and the youngster achieved that to get on the mat to add to India's medal tally in Paris.