Hardeep Singh Profile: 98kg Greco-Roman wrestling

Hardeep Singh will be competing at his first Olympics.

While India’s main focus has been on freestyle wrestling for years, Hardeep Singh became the first Indian heavy-weight wrestler from the Greco-Roman category to qualify for Rio Olympics. It was a welcome change to see a Greco-Roman wrestler qualify for Olympics after a gap of 12 years. At the Asian Qualifying event in Astana, Harpdeep sprung up some dominating performances to reach the final and qualify for the Games. In the final, he conceded the match due to injury but that didn’t affect his qualification. Having began wrestling during school days, Hardeep quickly rose through the ranks and trained in Zirakpur. He was pushed to train harder by his school teachers. After his initial success, he began training at the Chhatrasal Stadium in New Delhi. Like other wrestlers, Hardeep also began as a freestyle wrestler but took to Greco-Roman on the insistence of his coach and India national team coach Kuldeep Singh. Once after changing the style, he performed well at the the international competitions and became a mainstay in the team. Hardeep hails from the Jind district of Haryana and has been the national champion in the 96kg weight category for two years now.

His qualification to Rio Games will help Greco-Roman wrestling in India and more wrestlers will be keen to take part in this style.

Age: 25

Event: Wrestling (Greco-Roman 98kg)

Event Date: August 14

Qualifying tournament: Asian Olympic Qualifier tournament, Astana

Career highlights: Silver at Asian Wrestling championships, 2015