Hardeep Singh is an Indian Greco Roman wrestler from India who competed in Olympics, Commonwealth Games and Asiad Games. Hardeep Singh became Commonwealth Champion in 2013 and finished as runner-up at the 2016 Asian Wrestling Championships. In March 2016, Hardeep Singh became the first Indian heavyweight Greco-Roman wrestler to qualify for the Rio Olympics 2016.
Early Life of Hardeep Singh
Hardeep was born on 20th December 1990 in a farming family of the Dohla village of Jind district of Haryana. Hardeep Singh started wrestling during his school days. His coach identified his talent and got him admitted to a sports school, which taught him the wrestling basics. Singh then trained at Sports Authority of India`s regional centre for three years. As he made good impression there, Hardeep Singh was sent to Chhatrasal Stadium of Delhi to further polish his skills.
Early Career of Hardeep Singh
Hardeep Singh trained for four years in Chhatrasal Stadium of Delhi. During that period, Hardeep Singh also got employed in the Indian Railways. It is noteworthy that Hardeep Singh started as a freestyle wrestler during his early days but shifted to the Greco-Roman style after the 2009 Junior National Wrestling Championships.
Career of Hardeep Singh
Hardeep Singh"s stint at the 2013 World Wrestling Championships proved to be short-lived as he lost in the round of sixteen to Moldava`s Marin Cazac by 3-1. At the 58th Senior National Wrestling Championship which was held at Kolkata, West Bengal in November, Hardeep Singh represented Railways Sports Promotion Board and won gold medal in the 96 kg category of Greco-Roman. He also won the gold medal at the 2013 Commonwealth Wrestling Championship after defeating South Africa`s Julian Labuschagne in the final of the 96 kg category of Greco-Roman. He also competed in the 96 kg category of freestyle in that event, where he managed to win a bronze medal. In April, Hardeep Singh competed at the 2014 Asian Wrestling Championships. He won the first round by defeating Uzbekistan`s Jahongir Turdiev by 3-1 but lost to the eventual gold medallist Yerulan Iskakov in the next round by 1-4. He got a chance to secure a bronze medal through repechage but lost to China`s Di Xiao by 4-0 - finishing fifth in the tournament.
In World Wrestling Championships, which were held at the Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Hardeep Singh started well by defeating Japan`s Akira Osaka by 3-1 in the qualifying round but lost to Estonian Ardo Arusaar by 1-3 in the Round of 16. Hardeep Singh started the year`s campaign on a positive note by winning gold medal at the 35th National Games. At the 2015 World Wrestling Championships, Hardeep started well by getting better of Uzbekistan`s Jahongir Turdiev by 10-1 in the Round of 32 but lost to Alin Alexuc-Ciurariu of Romania by 0-9 in the next round. At the 2016 Asian Wrestling Championships, which was held in New Delhi, Hardeep won silver medal in the 98 kg weight category of the Greco-Roman after losing to the Asian Games gold medalist Mehdi Aliyari in the final.
Hardeep Singh in Asian Wrestling Olympic Qualification Tournament
Hardeep Singh participated in the 2016 Asian Wrestling Olympic Qualification Tournament. He defeated Arslan Saparmamedov of Turkmenistan by 11-0 in the quarterfinals before defeating Kazakhstan`s Margulan Assembekov by 11-2 in the semi final.
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