ON Sunday, when unheralded Atish Todkar, 20, surprised the world by knocking out Olympic silver medallist Ravi Dahiya, 25, in the 57kg Asian Games trials in New Delhi, one person was not surprised by the victory—Dinesh Gunde—Todkar's coach from Alandi, Pune, also an international referee, was present to witness his ward’s remarkable performance as he defeated Dahiya 20-8.

The Maharashtra wrestler, a gold medallist in U-20 Nationals and silver medallist at the U-23 Nationals, consistently dodged Dahiya by moving swiftly from under his arms to move back for take-down moves. Dahiya had a 6-4 lead going into the second period, but after that, it was the Maharashtra wrestler all the way. Two consecutive takedowns and a four-pointer from the edge of the mat that Todkar pulled off, rattled Dahiya.