New Delhi, Sep 10 — From almost quitting wrestling to now being set to make his Asian Games debut, Aman's journey has been anything but smooth. The 20-year-old is the youngest wrestler in India's Greco-Roman squad heading into the Asian Games, but he has had a lot of physical struggle to get here as he looks for continental glory.

It was in 2023, days after competing at the U-17 World Championship in August, that Aman suffered a right knee injury, which required ACL surgery within a week. He underwent the surgery, but his comeback road was a hard one, as he had a knee infection during his recovery, for which he needed another surgery, and then suffered another ACL injury, which forced a third surgery in his budding days.

"Training is going well right now. This is my first Asian Games, so I am feeling very excited about it. This is a big moment for me. But the last few years have not been easy for me. I have had three surgeries. It was a very hard phase, both mentally and physically. But now my body is feeling good, I am training well, and I just want to give my best at the Games," said Aman.

To get back to the mat quickly, Aman stated that both he and his doctor pushed the recovery faster than they should have, a decision that cost him. Aman developed an infection within two months and needed another surgery in October 2023 to treat it.

"I was young, and I had that jawani ka josh (youthful exuberance); I thought I would get back on the mat quickly and return straight to my peak. That was a mistake, mine and the doctor's both. Because of that, I got a knee infection, and I needed another surgery to fix it," he said.

Aman was on the mend and finally returned to training in April 2024. But barely a week into training, he suffered another ACL injury in the same knee, this time requiring a third surgery.

This kept Aman out for close to a year, a stretch during which his parents asked him to focus on his studies instead. He came very close to quitting the sport, but it was on the advice of his coach and his roommate that he kept pushing to get back on the mat.

"There was a time when I felt like quitting because of back-to-back injuries. Even my parents told me, ab padhai pe dhyan do (focus on your studies now), because they were worried about seeing me get hurt so many times. But my coach and my roommate did not let me think like that. They kept telling me, "You will come back; just give it time". They pushed me every single day to get back on the mat. And when I did come back, I won a gold medal in the senior category. That medal meant a lot to me; it showed me that all the hard work was worth it," he said.

Aman's father was also a wrestler, and it was his father who got him to the mat for the first time. "My father was also a wrestler, but he could not go far in the sport because he did not get the support at that time; there was no one to guide him properly. He always had this dream in his heart, and I think he saw that same dream for me. He is the one who got me into wrestling; he is the reason I am here today. In the beginning, he used to train me himself, on the ground near our village. Then when he saw I was serious about it, he sent me to an academy so that I could train more professionally," Aman said.

Aman, who is backed by the Inspire Institute of Sport (IIS), has his eyes on the Olympic gold, but does not want to look too far ahead in his journey. "My big dream is to win a gold medal at the Olympics. But I know it is a step-by-step process. Right now, my target is to win a gold medal at the Asian Games. After that, I want to win gold at the Senior World Championships. Then I will prepare for the Olympics. I am not thinking too far ahead; I am just taking one day at a time," he said.

He also credited the IIS in his journey. “IIS has helped me a lot. Whenever I needed to travel for training or competitions, they always supported me. Physiotherapy, supplements, whatever I have needed, they have given it to me. They have helped me in every way and taken care of everything I needed,” Aman said.

From three surgeries to upcoming Asian Games debut, Aman looks for glory

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