Pawan Kumar (wrestler)

Pawan Kumar
Personal information
NationalityIndian
Born (1993-10-16) 16 October 1993 (age 31)
Nangal Thakran, Delhi, India
Occupation(s)Government official, Indian Railways
Height173 cm (5 ft 8 in)
Weight86 kg (190 lb)
SpouseGeeta Phogat
Sport
CountryIndia
SportFreestyle wrestling
Event86 kg
Medal record
Representing  India
Men's Freestyle Wrestling
Commonwealth Games
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Glasgow 86 kg
Commonwealth Championships
Gold medal – first place 2011 Melbourne[1] 84 kg
Gold medal – first place 2013 Johannesburg 84 kg
Silver medal – second place 2017 Johannesburg[2] 86 kg
Updated on 18 August 2018

Pawan Kumar (born 16 October 1993), is an Indian freestyle wrestler. He represented India at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in the 86 kg weight class in which he won the bronze medal.[3] He also represented India at the 2014 Asian Games in the 86 kg weight class. His spouse is fellow wrestler Geeta Phogat.

Personal life

Kumar, also known as Pawan Saroha,[4] married Geeta Phogat, an Olympic wrestler, on 20 November 2016.[5]The couple had their first child, a boy Arjun Saroha, in 24 December 2019.

Career

2014 Commonwealth Games

At the 2014 Commonwealth Games, the young wrestler began his maiden CWG campaign in Glasgow, Scotland with a round of 16 matchup against Steve Hill of New Zealand, winning the match 4-0. Kumar met Luigi Bianco of Scotland in the quarter-finals and beat him 5-0. In the semi-finals, Kumar lost out to Tamerlan Tagziev of Canada with the burly Canadian beating him 5-0. There was still a chance of a medal with Kumar competing in the bronze medal match. He faced Muhammad Inam of Pakistan and ended the tightly contested match 6-6. But he was awarded the bronze medal in the particular category since he was the last one to score a point.[6]

2014 Asian Games

The 2014 Asian Games, held in Incheon, South Korea, wasn't as rewarding for Kumar. In the round of 16, Kumar faced off against Sumir Kumar Sah of Nepal and won 4-0. Progressing to the quarter-finals stage, Kumar was up against Mostafajoukar Meisam of Iran but lost 0-4 to the Iranian. With the latter qualifying for the finals, Kumar was given a chance to compete in the repechage round where he met Zhang Feng of China but ultimately crashed out of the tournament, losing 1-3.[7]

References

  1. ^ "Indians shine in Commonwealth Wrestling Championships". Times of india. PTI. 8 August 2011. Archived from the original on 27 October 2016. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
  2. ^ "Commonwealth Wrestling Championships 2017: Sushil Kumar, Sakshi Malik win gold Johannesburg". The Financial Express. Press Trust of India (PTI). 18 December 2017. Archived from the original on 26 February 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
  3. ^ "Commonwealth Games 2014: Indian wrestler Pawan Kumar wins bronze - The Economic Times". The Economic Times. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
  4. ^ Patwardhan, Deepti (23 February 2017). "Inspired by Dangal success, buoyant Geeta hopes to turn back the clock". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 18 August 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
  5. ^ Starry shaadi for wrestlers Geeta Phogat and Pawan Kumar Times of India (22 November 2016). Retrieved on 2 January 2017.
  6. ^ "Glasgow 2014 - Pawan Kumar Profile". g2014results.thecgf.com. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
  7. ^ "Athletes_Profile | Biographies | Sports". www.incheon2014ag.org. 29 September 2014. Retrieved 27 October 2015.