One of the three Indian wrestlers to have won a medal at Olympics for India, Yogeshwar Dutt has taken Indian wrestling to newer heights. A recipient of Padma Shri award, Yogeshwar Dutt has given India medals at Commonwealth Games, Olympics, and Asian Games.
Yogeshwar Dutt Early Life
Indian wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt was born in a remote village of Bhainswal Kalan in Sonipat district of Haryana. He took up the sport of wrestling at the age of just eight. Coming from a village which is popular for wrestling, Yogeshwar learned techniques of wrestling in the akharas’ or wrestling mud rings of his village.
An epitome of hard work, Yogeshwar toiled hard to make a name for himself in the sport of wrestling. The Indian wrestler lost a lot of battles growing up only to learn from those mistakes and gradually rise through the ranks.
Yogeshwar Dutt Personal Life
Yogeshwar Dutt’s father, Ram Mehar Dutt, was a farmer, while his mother, Sushila Devi, a homemaker. On 16th January 2017, Yogeshwar tied the knots with Sheetal Sharma in a private ceremony in Singhola on the outskirts of New Delhi on 16 January 2017. The ceremony was attended by many prominent sports personalities of the country and other famous politicians.
His wife, Sheetal also hails from Sonipat. She was born to Jai Singh Bhagawan who is a popular congress leader.
Yogeshwar is perhaps an inspiration to many who accepted only 1 rupee as Dowry as a token of goodwill from the groom’s family at his wedding. Many sports personalities, including Sachin Tendulkar, Saina Nehwal, and Vijender Singh took to Twitter to congratulate the wrestler.
Yogeshwar Dutt Professional Life
2006 Asian Games:
Just nine days before he took off to Doha for Asian Games, Yogeshwar Dutta’s father passed away; however, the Indian wrestler despite suffering from emotional trauma competed in the bout and won the 60kg category at the 15th Asian Games at Doha.
At the 2010 Commonwealth Games, Yogeshwar won battles against Australian Farzad Tarash (16–0, 17–0), South African Marius Loots (7–1) and England’s Sasha Madyarchyk (4–4, 8–0) on his way to the final, to clinch a gold for the nation at the event.
Yogeshwar Dutt made headlines after becoming the third Indian wrestler after K D Jadhav and Sushil Kumar to win a medal at Olympics. He claimed a bronze medal in the Men’s freestyle 60kg event at the 2012 Olympics.
Yogeshwar competed in the men’s 65kg freestyle category at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. He beat Canada’s Jevon Balfour 10–0 in the finals, to clinch a gold medal at the event.
At the 2014 Asian Games, he defeated Zalimkhan Yusupov of Tajikistan in the finals to win gold in the 65kg freestyle wrestling category.
Awards
- Indian wrestler, Yogeshwar Dutt received Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award handed by the Government of Indian in 2012.
- After winning bronze at the 2012 Olympics, Dutt was awarded with Rs. 10 million by Haryana Government and a 4×4 vehicle from a PSU bank.
Yogeshwar Dutt Achievements
Olympics Games: Bronze: 2012 London
- Yogeshwar Dutt took the world by storm after becoming the third Indian wrestler to win a medal at Olympics. He defeated North Korean Ri Jong-Myong, earning a bronze at the event.
Asian Games: Bronze: 2006 Doha, Gold: 2014 Incheon
- Yogeshwar Dutt bagged a bronze medal in the 60kg freestyle category at the 2006 Asian Games.
- At the 2014 Asian Games, he won a gold medal in the 65kg freestyle category.
Commonwealth Games: Gold: 2010 Delhi, Gold: 2014 Glasgow
- Yogeshwar won his first Gold medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in the 60kg freestyle category.
- At the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Dutt won his second medal, clinching a gold medal in the 65kg category.
Asian Championships:
- Indian wrestler, Yogeshwar Dutt won his gold medal at the Asian Championships in 2008. He bagged a gold medal in the 60kg category.
- At the 2012 Asian Championships, he won a gold medal in the 60kg category.
Commonwealth Championship:
- Yogeshwar Dutt represented his nation for the first time at Commonwealth Championship in 2003, winning a gold medal in the 55kg category.
- He then bagged another gold medal at the 2005 Commonwealth Championship in the 60kg category.
- He won a silver medal at the 2005 edition, followed by a gold medal at 2007 London.
Yogeshwar Dutt Personal Information
Name: Yogeshwar Dutt
Nickname: Yogi
Profession: Freestyle Wrestler
Father’s name: Ram Mehar Dutt
Mother’s name: Sushila Devi
Coach: Ramphal and Master Satbir Singh
Height: 5’5
Weight: 60kgs
Eye Colour: Black
Hair Colour: Black
Date of Birth: 2 November, 1982
Age: 36
Birth Place: Bhainswal Kalan, Gohana Sonipat district, Haryana
Zodiac Sign: Scorpio
Nationality: Indian
Hometown: Bhainswal Kalan, Gohana Sonipat district, Haryana
Favourite Actors: Amitabh Bachchan and Randeep Hooda
Yogeshwar Dutt Controversy
In the year 2016, the Indian Olympic Association chose Salman Khan as the goodwill ambassador of the Indian contingent for the Rio Olympics. Making Salman as the ambassador didn’t go too well with Indian wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt.
He voiced his displeasure saying that India has no dearth of athletes to be named as the ambassador of the Indian contingent.
According to the Indian wrestler, popular sportspersons like Sachin Tendulkar, PT Usha etc deserve more to become the brand ambassador than a film star.
Yogeshwar Dutt Net Worth
Yogeshwar Dutt’s net worth is estimated between $1million and $10 million.
Social Media Handles
Yogeshwar Dutt Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/YogeshwarOfficial/
Yogeshwar Dutt Instagram: https://instagram.com/yogeshwardutt
Yogeshwar Dutt Twitter: https://twitter.com/DuttYogi
