City
Epaper

Deepak Punia reaches final of World C'ships, books Tokyo berth

By IANS | Published: September 21, 2019 7:10 PM

A month after winning the Junior World Championships, India's rising star Deepak Punia (86kg) will now aim for the senior gold as well after he reached the final of the Wrestling World Championships on Saturday.

Open in App

The 19-year-old, who became the youngest Indian ever to make it to the final of the World Championships, also bagged a Tokyo 2020 Olympic quota in the process.

Deepak, who also won the World Cadet title in 2016, is thus the fourth Indian grappler to book a Tokyo ticket this week, following Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia and Ravi Kumar Dahiya. While each of them pocketed a bronze medal, Deepak will be the only Indian to return home with at least a silver.

While Deepak was easily the star of the show on the penultimate day of the championships, Rahul Aware (61kg) also remains in contention for a bronze in the non-Olympic category.

Deepak made a slow and nervous start to his maiden campaign at the Worlds, but showed terrific maturity and presence of mind to turn the tables. Trailing 0-5 against the home favourite Adilet Davlumbayev, Punia stormed back to complete an 8-6 comeback win.

Against Tajikistan's Bakhodur Kodirov, Punia never relinquished his control to secure a commanding 6-0 win and then followed it up with a gritty and hard-fought 7-6 victory over Carlos Arturo Izquierdo Mendez of Colombia that gave him the prized Olympic berth.

In the semi-finals, Deepak beat Switzerland's Stefan Reichmuth 8-2 to set up a final showdown with Olympic and world champion Hassan Aliazam Yazdani Charati of Iran.

Commonwealth Games gold medallist Rahul Aware made a thunderous start to his challenge with an emphatic 13-2 victory over Turkmenistan's Kerim Hojakov. Against Kazakhstan's Rassul Kaliyev in the last-eight round, the Indian had to dig deep and relied on his finesse to secure a 10-7 victory.

Aware then came up short against the European Championship silver medallist Beka Lomtadze of Georgia, 6-10 in a very fast semi-final match.

Meanwhile, Jitender (79kg) lost in the quarter-finals to Slovakia's Taimuraz Salkazanov 0-4. In 97kg, Mausam Khatri was completely outplayed by the reigning Olympic champion Kyle Frederick Snyder of USA in 0-10 verdict.

With both their opponents failing to reach the finals, Jitender and Khatri bowed out of the championships.

( With inputs from IANS )

Tags: DeepakBajrang PuniaMausam KhatriJitenderTokyo
Open in App

Related Stories

InternationalNuclear Envoys of South Korea, China Discuss Korean Peninsula Issues in Tokyo

NationalBajrang Punia Slams Journalist on X for Suggesting He May Join BJP Next

InternationalWatch: Japan’s First Private-Sector Rocket ‘Kairos’ Explode in Mid-Air, Seconds After Launch

NationalDelhi HC To Hear Wrestlers Petition by Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat Against WFI Elections Today

Other SportsUnited World Wrestling Lifts Suspension on Wrestling Federation of India with Immediate Effect

Other Sports Realted Stories

Other SportsTripura CM congratulates para swimmer Binit Roy for winning bronze at World Series Championship in Singapore

Other SportsIPL 2024: Pooran's brilliant knock helps Lucknow beat MI despite Rohit, Naman fifties

Other SportsIPL 2024: Rohit, Naman fifties in vain as Mumbai Indians end campaign with 18-run loss to LSG

Other Sports"I had the good fortune of meeting the master": Mountaineer Nima Rinji Sherpa after meeting Sachin Tendulkar

Other SportsArne Slot says he will succeed Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool manager