After Vinesh Phogat’s disqualification due to being overweight, Aman Sehrawat and his team were determined to avoid a similar setback. Following his semifinal defeat, Aman weighed in at 61.5 kg—4.5 kg over the limit for the men’s 57 kg category. With just 10 hours before his bronze medal match, Aman and his coaches, Jagmander Singh and Virender Dahiya, embarked on an intense weight-loss mission.
Aman’s journey to shed the excess weight began immediately after his semifinal loss to Japan’s Rei Higuchi at 6:30 pm. The coaches had no time to spare and quickly put Aman through a grueling series of exercises. They started with a 90-minute mat session focused on standing wrestling, followed by an hour-long hot bath to induce sweating.
At 12:30 am, the team headed to the gym, where Aman spent an hour running non-stop on the treadmill. The rigorous exercise aimed to further reduce his weight through sweating. After a brief 30-minute rest, Aman underwent five 5-minute sauna sessions. Despite these efforts, he still had 900g to lose.
The coaches then gave Aman a massage and encouraged him to continue with light jogging. This was followed by five 15-minute running intervals. By 4:30 am, Aman had successfully dropped to 56.9kg, 100g below the limit. Relieved, the team knew their hard work had paid off.
Throughout the night, Aman sipped on lukewarm water mixed with lemon, honey, and a bit of coffee to maintain his energy. He stayed awake, watching wrestling videos to keep his focus sharp. “We kept checking his weight every hour. We didn’t sleep the whole night, not even during the day,” Coach Dahiya explained. “Cutting weight is routine for us, but after what happened with Vinesh, the pressure was immense.”
All the sleepless hours and relentless efforts culminated in success when Aman defeated Puerto Rico’s Darian Cruz to win the bronze medal on Friday, making him India’s youngest-ever Olympic medallist.
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