Nisha Dahiya, known as India’s promising wrestler is going to feature at the 2024 Paris Olympics in the women’s freestyle 68kg category.
The Haryana native who is the second daughter of her parents bagged a bronze medal in the women’s freestyle 65 kg event at the 2021 U23 World Wrestling Championships.
The 25-year-old made a memorable comeback last year at the Senior Asian Championships in Astana to win a silver medal.
Nisha Dahiya: Know about the Olympian
Dahiya is the fifth wrestler from India to qualify for the Olympics in Paris. Nisha qualified by defeating Alexandra Anghel of Romania in the 68kg semifinals in the World Olympic Qualifiers, which took place in May of this year.
Nisha Dahiya was born on July 20, 1997, in Haryana. She began her wrestling journey at the tender age of 12, inspired by her father's passion for the sport.
In an interview with a news portal, Nisha opened up about her journey of wrestling saying, “I am my father’s second daughter, and my sister is 10 years older than me. He never had a son, so he wanted me to do all that a son would do for him. I was never allowed to wear ‘girly’ clothes, never allowed to grow my hair long. If I applied nail polish or mehendi, my father would get really angry.”
She added, “When I went to weddings, I was not allowed to wear those fancy dresses that the other girls wore. I used to just turn up like a boy. I learned how to bike when I was in the 6th standard! My feet would not even reach the ground, but my father wanted me to master the skills a boy would have. He even wanted me to learn horse riding.”
Nisha Dahiya Paris Olympics 2024 match timing & date
Haryana-born wrestler, Nisha Dahiya will be in action in the Women's Freestyle 68kg, Round Of 16 bout at Paris Olympics 2024 on Monday, August 5 at Champ-de-Mars Arena at 6:44 pm IST.
Nisha’s four-year ban
Nisha faced a significant setback in her career when she received a four-year ban due to a doping test failure.
But in 2019, she made an incredible recovery and won the Under-23 National Championship, demonstrating her tenacity.
The close-knit aspect of the wrestling community was highlighted by Sakshi Malik, a fellow wrestler, who supported her through her challenges.