Young star Aman Baroniya shares his struggles ahead of making his debut for India in the Asian Games 2026Take a look and read the full story.
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Aman reveals his struggle ahead of the Asian Games 2026
Aman is the youngest wrestler in India’s Greco-Roman team for the Asian GamesHis road to the tournament has been a difficult one.
After just playing at the U-17 World Championship in August 2023, he tore his right knee badly and was in for ACL surgery within a weekHe then spent the next few years dealing with setbacks and working hard to regain his fitness and return to competition.
Aman opens up on three surgeries and tough road to Asian Games
“Training is going well right nowThis is my first Asian Games, so I am feeling very excited about itThis is a big moment for meBut the last few years have not been easy for meI have had three surgeriesIt was a very hard phase, both mentally and physicallyBut now my body is feeling good, I am training well, and I just want to give my best at the Games,” Aman said.
After his first surgery, Aman admitted that both his doctor and he pushed him to recover fasterHowever, his knee developed an infectionDue to this, he needs to go for a second surgery in October 2023.
“I was young, and I had that jawani ka josh (youthful exuberance), I thought I would get back on the mat quickly and return straight to my peakThat was a mistake, mine and the doctor’s bothBecause of that, I got a knee infection, and I needed another surgery to fix it,” he said.
How Aman’s father, coach and roommate plays a crucial role in his life
After the injury setback, he continued his rehabilitation into 2024 and returned to training in April of the same yearSadly, he suffered another ACL injury in the same knee, within a week, which followed him to the third surgeryThese injury setbacks made him stay away from the mat for a yearHis parents also asked him to focus on his studies after facing injury strugglesBut, during that period, Aman realized that he was close to walking away from the sport altogetherAt that time period, his coach and roommate played a crucial role for him as they kept pushing him to get back on the mat.
“There was a time when I felt like quitting, because of back to back injuriesEven my parents told me, ab padhai pe dhyan do (focus on your studies now), because they were worried about seeing me get hurt so many timesBut my coach and my roommate did not let me think like thatThey kept telling me, you will come back, just give it timeThey pushed me every single day to get back on the matAnd when I did come back, I won a gold medal in the senior categoryThat medal meant a lot to me, it showed me that all the hard work was worth it.”
In Aman’s life, wrestling played a crucial role as his father was also a wrestlerBut never got the support to take the sport furtherHis father played an important role in his life as he was the one to put his son in the match before sending him off to train at an academy.
“My father was also a wrestler, but he could not go far in the sport because he did not get the support at that time, there was no one to guide him properlyHe always had this dream in his heart, and I think he saw that same dream for meHe is the one who got me into wrestling, he is the reason I am here todayIn the beginning, he used to train me himself, on the ground near our villageThen when he saw I was serious about it, he sent me to an academy so that I could train more professionally.”
