This 17-year-old boy seeks help to wrestle at the Olympics

Story

17- year-old Ravinder is from the Rohtak village of Haryana. He hails from a family of farmers.

It was in around 2002 that Ravinder's father passed away, leaving behind 3-year old Ravinder and his then 1 year old brother. Since then, his mother has worked very hard, toiling for hours on the farm to educate Ravinder and his brother.
Under these circumstances, it was indeed a very tough choice for Ravinder to make, picking his passion-- Wrestling and deciding to follow it.

He started training when he was 11 and has never looked back.

The challenges were never less, but Ravinder never lost sight of his dream : to represent his country at the Olympics. He had to quit his education, but has now rejoined to complete his 12th standard alongside his training.

He has left behind his beloved family in Haryana and lives in Sri Hanuman Akhara, where he receives training.

This is India's oldest akhara, that has produced legends like Dara Singh. In fact Ravinder's coach Maha Singh Rao himself is a Dronacharya awardee.

His school teachers are cooperative, and allow him to come back just for writing exams. Ravinder practices around 10 hours a day on ordinary days if not more (at the time of competitions). His day begins at 4am and he does not rest till around 10am. The evening practice is also equally rigorous.

In 2014, he had ruptured a ligament during practice.

The doctors had recommended a surgery which was beyond him and his family. For about a month, Ravinder was unable to practice wrestling."I felt heart-broken. I had neither hope, nor money. My dream was beginning to blur. I felt very restless, but refused to give up."
When people saw his passion, everyone from his village came forward to put together the money required for Ravinder's surgery. it wasn't long before he was back in the ring.

Ravinder's mother has spent all she has and still works really hard at the farm to ensure his brother and he do not have to quit their education. She has sworn to not let her children live the same life as her. All she wants is to watch her son represent the country and make her proud.

Ravinder has now risen to the level of a Junior National Cadet.

Now, diet-training would be crucial to his routine. This includes almost 3 litres of milk, eggs and other sources of nutrition. This would cost around Rs. 25,000 a month. Ravinder and his family could not dream of an amount so big.

With your support, we could help provide for Ravinder's diet training for 6 months.