Yogeshwar Dutt (born 2 November 1982) is a former Indian freestyle wrestler who won the bronze medal in the 60 kg category at the 2012 London Olympics. He also won gold medals at the 2010 and 2014 Commonwealth Games and at the 2014 Asian Games, where he ended India’s 28-year wait for a wrestling gold. He competed at four Olympic Games and received the Khel Ratna in 2012. Since retiring he has been active in politics with the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Quick Facts
| Full name | Yogeshwar Dutt |
| Born | 2 November 1982, Bhainswal Kalan, Sonipat district, Haryana, India |
| Age | 43 |
| Sport | Freestyle wrestling (60 kg, 65 kg) |
| Olympic medal | Bronze, 60 kg (London 2012) |
| Olympics | 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016 |
| Party | Bharatiya Janata Party (since 2019) |
| Spouse | Sheetal Sharma (m. 2017) |
| Honours | Arjuna Award (2009), Khel Ratna (2012), Padma Shri (2013) |
Early Life
Dutt was born in Bhainswal Kalan village in Sonipat district. Both his parents were schoolteachers. Inspired by Balraj Pehlwan, a wrestler from his village, he began training at a local akhara at the age of eight and later moved to the Chhatrasal Stadium in Delhi, where he trained alongside Sushil Kumar.
Career
Dutt first competed at the Olympics in Athens in 2004. His father died just days before he left for the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, where he won bronze despite a knee injury. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics he lost in the quarter-finals.
At the London Olympics on 11 August 2012, Dutt lost in the second round to the eventual finalist, which gave him a place in the repechage. With one eye swollen almost shut, he won three bouts in under an hour, finishing with his trademark phitele (leg-twist) move to beat North Korea’s Ri Jong-myong and take the bronze medal.
He had won gold at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi and won again at Glasgow in 2014. At the Asian Games in Incheon that year he took gold in the 65 kg class, India’s first wrestling gold at the Games since 1986. He lost in the first round at the 2016 Rio Olympics, his last.
After the Russian wrestler Besik Kudukhov, who had won silver in London, was posthumously found to have failed a doping re-test, there were reports that Dutt’s bronze would be upgraded. Dutt said the medal should stay with Kudukhov’s family out of respect; in the end no upgrade took place.
Politics
Dutt joined the BJP in 2019 and contested the Haryana assembly election from Baroda that year, and a by-election there in 2020, losing both. He has also coached and mentored young wrestlers, among them the Olympic medallist Bajrang Punia.
Awards and Honours
Major Medals
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where was Yogeshwar Dutt born?
Yogeshwar Dutt was born on 2 November 1982 in Bhainswal Kalan, Sonipat district, Haryana, India and is 43 years old.
What honours has Yogeshwar Dutt received?
Arjuna Award (2009), Khel Ratna (2012), Padma Shri (2013).
Featured image: Yogeshwar Dutt shows his gold medal in the 60 kg freestyle wrestling at the Commonwealth Games, New Delhi, 9 October 2010. Photo by Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, licensed under Government Open Data License – India, via Wikimedia Commons.
