In an exclusive conversation with mid-day online Olympic medalist Ravi Dahiya spoke about his experience of walking the ramp for the first time and his future plans
Photos by PR
Silver medalist in wresting at Tokyo Olympics 2020, Ravi Kumar Dahiya made his runway debut on the second day of the Lakme Fashion Week. The 23-year-old freestyle wrestler turned showstopper for fashion designer Mohammed Mazhar.
Dressed in a monochrome Indo-Boho rustic outfit from the designer’s Autumn-Winter 2021-22 Collection ‘Meri Pyaari Khat,’ Ravi Dahiya stunned the fashion fraternity.
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“It was definitely a great experience,” says Ravi Dahiya in an exclusive conversation with mid-day.com.
He adds, “Walking the ramp was as fun as walking across the mat to play my matches.”
On being asked how he would use his new-found fame in fashion to inspire the youth, Ravi Dahiya says, “The person behind the clothes should always be the inspiration. What you do for yourself and others should be the inspiration. For me, fashion and style is all about staying true to who you are and that is what people will believe in.”
Talking about his backstage experience at the LFW, Ravi Kumar Dahiya says, “It was all about preparation, quite like how we prepare, train and warm up before our matches. But here the preparations were different of course. I have to say I was a bit nervous and had those butterflies in the stomach. But watching people working so passionately behind the scenes motivated me and made me feel confident.”
The most famous names of the fashion fraternity belong from the cities which empower them with the required exposure to make it big in the industry. Dahiya, the son of a farmer from Haryana walking the ramp on one of the most coveted fashion shows seems like an encouraging element for many aspiring models from tier 2 and tier 3 cities.
Adding to the same chain of thoughts, Dahiya says, “Everyone has a story, their own journey and their own roots. So many aspiring models and actors hail from small towns.”
“Many athletes representing India hail from small towns or the villages of our country. Thus, the youth of the tier 2 and tier 3 towns of India are highly aspirational. The biggest example of this is the designer I walked for. Mohammed Mazhar is also from a small town like me,” he adds.
When asked if he would like to share some of his fashion tips for his young admirers, Ravi Dahiya says, “I am not a fashion expert but my favourite outfit is my wresting costume for sure and besides that a kurta or a t-shirt with comfy pants.”
Quizzed about his future plans in wrestling and fashion, the young wrestler said, “I am here because of wrestling, so, my focus is to represent India in the upcoming big tournaments and win gold for our country. That will be my priority.”
“For Fashion, I think people will simply love seeing me wearing our India uniform with a gold medal around my neck and me holding our Tiranga high over my shoulder - How is that for my Fashion plans?” he quips.
After winning the silver medal at Tokyo Olympics, Ravi is looking forward to winning at other big tournaments like the United World Wrestling Commonwealth and World Championships, Birmingham 2022 commonwealth Games, AsianGames and the Paris Olympics 2024.
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