Ravi Kumar Dahiya of India won his third consecutive Asian Wrestling Championship gold medal with a dominant performance in the 57kg division on Saturday, defeating Kazakhstan’s Rakhat Kalzhan by technical superiority.

Ravi, the silver medalist from the Tokyo Olympics, gave up an early lead in both of his bouts but, as is his habit, came back strong to outsmart his opponents in the men’s freestyle event.

After winning silver at the Dan Kolov event in February, it was his second final of the season.

Ravi, who is from Sonepat’s Nahri village, once again shown his enormous physical strength and tactical supremacy as he outsmarted Japan’s Rikuto Arai (VSU) and defeated Mongolia’s Zanabazar Zandanbud 12-5 in the final.

In the title fight, Kalzhan took the initiative with a take-down and held the Indian at bay for a long time. Ravi, however, began to dominate the fight with his unequalled class, as is his style.

He hit six straight two-pointers, saving himself from a left-leg attack in the process, to win the bout early in the second period and give India its first gold medal of the tournament. Ravi had already won gold at the 2020 editions in Delhi and Almaty.