Vinod Kumar Dahiya

2021-06-06T03:08:11Z

2405:6E00:2EF2:DF00:B136:448:21DF:1996:

{{short description|Indian-Australian Greco-Roman wrestler (born 1986)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=February 2018}}
{{Infobox sport wrestler
| name = Vinod Kumar Dahiya
| image =
| image_size =
| caption = Dahiya in Rio Olympic
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1986|1|1}}
| birth_place = [[Khanda, Sonipat]], [[Haryana]]
| nationality = {{Flag|Australia}}
| height = {{height|cm=155}}
| weight =66 kg
| style = [[Greco-Roman wrestling|Greco-Roman]]
| club = United Wrestling Club
| coach = Kuldip Bassi , Amin
}}

'''Vinod Kumar Dahiya''' (born 1 January 1986), also known as '''Vinod Kumar''', is an Indian-Australian [[Greco-Roman wrestling|Greco-Roman]] [[wrestler]] who competes in the 66 kg category.

==Life and career==
Dahiya was born on 1 January 1986 in the Indian village of [[Khanda, Sonipat]] in [[Haryana]]. He began wrestling in 1994, and joined [[Satpal Singh]]'s coaching [[akhara]] in [[Delhi]] in 1998.<ref name=ie>{{cite news|last1=Siwach|first1=Vinay|title=Vinod Kumar – Dangal wrestler, immigrant, newspaper hawker, bouncer… now Olympian from Australia|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/sports/sport-others/vinod-kumar-dangal-wrestler-immigrant-newspaper-hawker-bouncer-now-australian-olympian-2778472/|work=The Indian Express|access-date=9 July 2016|date=1 May 2016}}</ref>

In 2001, while returning home from a wrestling tournament, Dahiya was pushed out of a moving night train by two men, one of whom was the father of a rival wrestler. Dahiya was discovered in the morning by rail workers who admitted him to a hospital. The injuries left him bed-ridden for a year, during which his weight dropped to 40 kg. His family members rejected the compensation offered by the perpetrators and launched legal action against them.<ref name=ie/><ref name=reuters/>

In 2009, Dahiya finished third at the Australia Cup and decided to move to Australia following [[Sandeep Kumar (wrestler)|Sandeep Kumar]]'s suggestion. He gathered {{INR}}17 [[lakh]] from his relatives and by taking loans, and moved to [[Melbourne]] in 2010. He trained at United Wrestling Club under Kuldip Bassi, the then president of [[Wrestling Australia]].<ref name=ie/><ref>{{cite news|title=Haryana-born wrestler Dahiya to represent Australia at Rio Olympics|url=http://www.rediff.com/sports/report/haryana-born-wrestler-vinod-dahiya-to-represent-australia-at-rio-olympics/20160426.htm|access-date=9 July 2016|work=Rediff|date=26 April 2016}}</ref> Due to shortage of money, he worked as a [[newspaper hawker]], [[Bouncer (doorman)|bouncer]] and [[courier]].<ref name=ie/><ref name=reuters>{{cite news|last1=Ransom|first1=Ian|title=Wrestler Vinod Kumar on track for Rio Olympics after being thrown from train|url=http://in.reuters.com/article/olympics-rio-wrestling-australia-kumar-idINKCN0YO1S0|work=Reuters|access-date=9 July 2016|date=2 June 2016}}</ref>

Dahiya acquired Australian citizenship in 2015. He represented Australia for the first time at the 66 kg Greco-Roman event of the 2016 Oceania Wrestling Championships in New Zealand and won the gold medal.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Dutta|first1=Subhasish|title=Indian-origin wrestler set to represent Australia at Rio Olympics|url=http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/indian-origin-wrestler-set-to-represent-australia-at-rio-olympics/1/651843.html|access-date=9 July 2016|work=India Today|date=26 April 2016}}</ref> By 2016, he won six national championships in Australia.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Bharadwaj|first1=Jitarth Jai|last2=Sarwal|first2=Amit|title=With no money in his pocket, he dreams to win an Olympic Gold for Australia|url=http://www.sbs.com.au/yourlanguage/hindi/en/article/2016/04/08/no-money-his-pocket-he-dreams-win-olympic-gold-australia|access-date=9 July 2016|work=SBS|date=8 April 2016}}</ref> He won the silver medal at [[2016 African & Oceania Wrestling Olympic Qualification Tournament]] and qualified for the [[2016 Summer Olympics]]. He thus became the second Indian-born Australian wrestler to qualify for the Olympics.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Singh|first1=Manpreet K.|last2=Kainth|first2=Shamsher|title=Vinod Kumar confident of bringing Olympic glory to Australia|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/world/vinod-kumar-confident-of-bringing-olympic-glory-to-australia/story-cDzEYP1HOK6G1bf3A3w6qM.html|access-date=9 July 2016|work=Hindustan Times|date=17 April 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Kumari|first1=Nidhi|title=From a small village in Haryana to bringing Australia on international map|url=http://www.indusage.com.au/from-a-small-village-in-haryana-to-bringing-australia-on-international-map/|access-date=9 July 2016|work=Indus Age|date=1 June 2016}}</ref> However, in July 2016, he was handed a four-year ban after failing a doping test conducted at the Olympic qualification tournament in April, and was subsequently removed from the Australian Olympic contingent.<ref>{{cite news|title=Australian wrestler Vinod Kumar to be axed from Olympics after doping ban|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/jul/15/australian-wrestler-vinod-kumar-to-be-axed-from-olympics-after-doping-ban|work=The Guardian|date=15 July 2016|access-date=23 July 2016}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* [https://unitedworldwrestling.org/database Profile at United World Wrestling]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dahiya, Vinod Kumar}}
[[Category:1986 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Australian male sport wrestlers]]
[[Category:Indian male sport wrestlers]]
[[Category:Sport wrestlers from Haryana]]
[[Category:Indian emigrants to Australia]]

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Vinod Kumar Dahiya