At Aman’s Olympic medal, Jhajjar village breaks into celebrations

Ravinder Saini

Tribune News Service

Jhajjar, August 10

Residents of Birohar, the native village of Paris Olympic Bronze medallist Aman Sehrawat, and Aman’s family members are upbeat about his stellar performance in his maiden appearance in the Olympics.

Though the family and villagers were expecting gold from him, they are satisfied with bronze and said their son would definitely change the colour of medal in the next Olympic games in 2028.

Aman’s grandfather Mange Ram, grandmother Achni Devi and other family members broke into celebrations when Aman defeated his rival in the bout for bronze late on Friday night. They along with other family members and fellow villagers watched Aman’s match live on a screen especially put up outside his house.

“Aman’s victory for bronze has made everyone happy as we all were upset following his defeat in the semifinal on Thursday. However, we were quite confident about his bronze medal,” said a proud grandfather.

Family members had arranged the sweets in advance to celebrate Aman’s achievement. The distribution started as soon as Aman secured the 6th medal for India in the Paris Olympics.

“Aman, 21, lost his parents 10 years ago. His parents wanted to see him as an international wrestler who could make the nation proud by clinching a medal in the Olympic Games. Aman has fulfilled the dream of his parents by winning bronze in Paris. It is a tribute to his late parents,” said Sudhir Sehrawat, Aman’s uncle.

Making his Olympic debut, Sehrawat secured the bronze medal with a 13-5 victory over Puerto Rico’s Darian Cruz on Friday, marking India’s first wrestling medal at the Paris 2024 Games.

Sudhir reflected on Aman’s challenging journey, noting that the wrestler has faced significant struggles after losing his parents at a tender age. He expressed hope that Aman would win a gold medal in future Olympic Games.

“Before leaving for Paris, Aman had promised us to bring gold medal. He missed it by a wisher, but he has won the bronze medal for the country. When I advised him not to let pressure mount on him in Olympics as it’s a biggest tournament, he replied do not worry tauji (uncle), I will play my natural game and win the medal,” said Sudhir.

Deepak, brother of Aman, said family members and villagers were eagerly waiting for Aman’s return to home to accord him a grand welcome.

Aman had gone to Chhatrasal Stadium in Delhi to learn wrestling following the wish of his father when he was merely 11 years old. He got admission in a government school there and completed his 12th. At present, Aman is pursuing his undergraduate degree from Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU) Rohtak.