Indian wrestler Bajrang Punia expressed his disappointment for missing out on gold in Tokyo 2020. The Indian wrestler, however, has his eyes set on gold in Paris Olympics 2024. Bajrang Punia won the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics. He defeated Kazakhstan’s Daulet Niyazbekov in men's freestyle 65kg category. Bajrang's smart attacking moves made him a 8-0 winner against Niyazbekov. Punia also became the sixth Indian wrestler to finish on the Olympic podium. "I want to thank everyone for their prayer, love, and support as I could win a medal in Olympics. I also want to thank the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) and supporting staff," Bajrang Punia said. I'm disappointed that I couldn't win the gold medal but I'll try to win it in Paris Olympics in 2024," he added.
In the match between Punia and Niyazbekov, the former went on to take 2-0 lead in the first period and all the pressure was on the Kazakh opponent heading into the last three minutes. In the final three minutes, Bajrang managed to hold his own and he kept his opponent at bay walking away with a bronze medal. The 32-year-old three-time Asian Champion and two-time Worlds medallist was coming into the play-off with a win by technical superiority in the repechage round. The bronze-medal bout was off to a cagey start. During his three bouts on Friday, Bajrang had seemed apprehensive in putting his knee on the mat in search of takedowns. After he scored a point due to Niyazbekov’s passivity in the first period on Saturday, Bajrang went for a takedown. He was put in a headlock for his effort, but the Indian first got free with clever defence, and then sent his opponent out of bounds to make it 2-0.