Wrestling
Olympics 2024: Aman Sehrawat drops 4.6kg weight in 10-hour to win bronze
Aman Sehrawat shed 4.6kg in ten hours to win a bronze medal at Paris 2024, overcoming a weight challenge and a sleepless night
Aman Sehrawat won the bronze medal bout against Darian Cruz of Puerto Rico at the Paris Olympics 2024. (Photo Credit: WFI)
While the nation is still haunted by the word ‘100 grams,’ a similar story has unfolded about losing weight on Friday, with India's only wrestling medalist from the Paris Olympics 2024 Aman Sehrawat losing 4.6kg in ten hours to get ready for his bronze-medal playoff.
After an initial triumph in the semi-final, Sehrawat faced a daunting challenge, weighing 61.5kg, way over the 57kg limit.
This situation was particularly fraught given the recent disqualification of fellow wrestler Vinesh Phogat for exceeding the weight limit by a mere 100 grams.
Indian coaches Jagmandeer Singh and Virender Dahiya were deeply concerned, knowing that any misstep could jeopardize Sehrawat's chance of winning a medal.
The coaches and Sehrawat started an intensive and gruelling 10-hour regimen to meet the weight requirement.
The process began with an hour and a half of strenuous wrestling drills, followed by an hour-long hot bath intending to induce sweating.
This was succeeded by an intense treadmill workout at the gym at 12:30 PM. Then, Aman underwent a series of five sauna sessions, each lasting 5 minutes, aimed at further weight reduction through perspiration.
Despite these rigorous efforts, Sehrawat’s weight remained just 900 grams above the limit.
Determined not to lose precious time, he continued with light jogging and a series of five 15-minute running sessions.
To support his weight loss, he was provided lukewarm water mixed with lemon and honey, and coffee to help flush out excess fluids.
By 4:30 PM on the day of the bout, Aman had managed to reduce his weight to 56.9kg—precisely 100 grams below the limit.
The extreme measures and sleepless nights were followed by an intense focus on wrestling technique as Aman watched videos of past matches to mentally prepare for his bout.
Coach Dahiya reflected on the ordeal with a mixture of relief and anxiety.
“We kept checking his weight every hour. We didn't sleep the whole night, not even during the day. Weight cutting is routine, normal for us but there was tension, a lot of tension due to what happened the other day (with Vinesh). We could not let slip another medal,” he said.
