Not getting bogged by the enormity of the occasion was foremost on wrestler Aman Sehrawat's mind when he took the mat for the Olympic bronze medal play-off bout, treating it as another state level competition.
India's youngest individual medal winner at the Paris Olympics, the 21-year-old from the iconic Chhatrasal akhadaa (wrestling academy), gave a sneak peek into his mindset before the biggest bout of his nascent career.
"First I thought, I am in the semi-final and I lost six points. Then it hit me that I've lost six points in an Olympic bout what should I do now? I told myself that it isn't an Olympic bout and I'm still fighting at the state level," Aman told PTI Videos in an exclusive interview on his return from Paris.
"So, I didn't think of it as an Olympic bronze medal match. Just thought of it as any state level game to get my mind off the occasion," the star wrestler said.
On how he managed to cut down weight before his bouts, Aman replied: "It was not a major issue, we already had plans to cut weight and had some 3.5 kg was increased. So I cut the weight overnight and then I went for the weigh in," said the 57 kg division grappler, who was found to weight exactly 100 gram less than cut-off mark, the same quantity that famed Vinesh Phogat had exceeded.
On how he felt in becoming the youngest Indian to win an Olympic medal, he said:"Feels great. Now the aim is to change the colour of the medal at the next Olympics (in Los Angeles in 2028). I will work hard for it."
He also acknowledged the contribution of Tokyo Olympics silver medallist Ravi Dahiya, who was his mentor.
"Ravi Dahiya has played a huge role in my journey. We followed his footsteps in training and got inspired by him."
He is indebted to his brother for taking care of him after he lost both his parents at a tender age.
"My journey was indeed difficult but my brother Sagar took care of me. Not for once did he let me feel the parental void. He took good care of me."
Aman felt there was a lot of time left in his career and he aims to turn the colour of the medal he earned in Paris.
"I will try my best to win the gold medal in the next Olympics," he signed off.
