Deepak Punia becomes world No.1 after World Championship silver
Other Sports | September 27, 2019 12:29 ISTCompeting in his maiden senior World Championship, Deepak settled for a silver after an ankle injury forced him to pull out of the final.
Competing in his maiden senior World Championship, Deepak settled for a silver after an ankle injury forced him to pull out of the final.
Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) has hit hard on the Indian wrestlers after their performances in the recently-concluded Wrestling Championships.
The Sports Minister hoped that wrestling will produce maximum number of medals at next year's Tokyo Olympics.
Bajrang Punia fought back from a 0-6 deficit to defeat Mongolian Tulga Tumur Ochir 8-7 in the 65-kg bronze medal bout in Nur-Sultan
India's ace wrestler Bajrang Punia won the bronze medal in the 65kg category as he defeated Talga Tumur Ochir of Mongolia.
Punia was a victim of multiple fouls as Niyazbekov was warned but to no avail as he trailed 2-9 following a four-point move by Niyazbekov which was reviewed by the Indian grappler.
Ace Indian wrestlers Bajrang Punia and Ravi Kumar secured two Olympic berths during the ongoing World Wrestling Championships in Nur-Sultan.
Bajrang Punia lost the semifinal in a controversial manner at the World Wrestling Championships, but secured a berth in the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
World number one Bajrang, who is in Russia for training ahead of the championships, had bagged a silver in the last edition and a bronze in 2013 in 60kg.
Bajrang will receive the award from Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju after he returns from the World championships.
Bajrang Punia's name was finalised by a 12-member selection committee on the opening day of a two-day meeting.
It is fourth gold of the season for the Asian Games champion Bajrang after standing atop the podium at Dan Kolov, Asian Championship and Ali Aliev tournament.
Presence of proven performer Bajrang in the 65kg trials meant that most of the wrestlers in this category preferred to stay away.
Bajrang Punia's presence in the 65kg category of the trials for the Indian World Championship team meant that Shrawan had to withdraw from the particular category.
Bajrang got the better of the local favourite 13-8 in his final bout after being down 0-5 at one stage.
Bajrang and Vinesh's names were sent by WFI owing to their remarkable performances in the last couple of years.
Punia, a World Championship silver medallist, overpowered Jordan Oliver of USA 12-3 in the 65kg freestyle final to begin the season on a resounding note in the Bulgarian city.
Gautam Gambhir said that he wants to be a better human being while Sunil Chhetri said that he will be hungrier to perform even better.
The Commonwealth Games may not be the best yardstick but considering that the Asian bloc is a powerhouse of the sport, Bajrang and Vinesh's gold medals at the Jakarta Games assume significance.
Two-time Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar and Rio Olympic bronze medallist Sakshi Malik, who are struggling with form for quite some time, could not make the top Grade.
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