India at Tokyo Olympics: Deepak Punia suffers defeat in Bronze Medal Match

Indian Wrestler Deepak Punia competed in the 86 KG Bronze Medal match today against Myles Amine of San Marino. The matchup started slowly with both wrestlers trying to get the upper hand.

It was the Indian that started with the points. He got an early 2-0 lead which was then reduced to 2-1 by Amine. The second period went without any points but in the closing seconds, Amine managed to score 2 points and got one more point as a result of a failed challenge from India and took home the 4-2 win and the Bronze Medal. 

Ravi Kumar Dahiya gets Silver Medal

Earlier, Indian Wrestler star Ravi Kumar Dahiya had secured a  medal for India in the 57 KG Category at the Tokyo Olympics. Ravi went up against Zaur Uguev of Russia in the Finals today and settled for a Silver Medal. Uguev had a strong showing throughout the match and although Ravi tried to stage returns at different parts of the matchup, it was fended off successfully by the Russian who went on to win the Gold Medal. 

Vinesh Phogat bows out without a medal

Top seed and Indian Wrestling star Vinesh Phogat was in action today at the Olympics. Vinesh first went up against former Olympic Bronze Medalist Sofia Mattson in the Round of 16 and secured a comfortable 7-1 win in the 53 KG bracket. 

The Indian was then pitted up against Vanesa Kaladzinskaya of Belarus in the quarter-finals. At the end of the first period, Vanesa was leading with a score of 5-2 and had Vinesh on the defense. Vinesh pushed hard in the opening minute of the second period but Vanesa produced a magical turnaround to use the offense in her favor and moved the score to 7-2. This was challenged by the Indian team noting that Vinesh had done enough to get the points in favor. The challenge was successful which changed the score to 5-3. 

Vanesa, however, came back strongly and secured two more points to take the score to 7-2 with just a minute to go. The Belarusian then went on to secure the pin and the win. The repechage hopes of Vinesh came crashing down later in the day when Vanesa Kaladzinskaya failed to progress into the finals of the 53 KG Category. Vanesa suffered a close defeat in the semi-finals which in turn, ended the hopes of Vinesh to win a Bronze through a repechage. 

Campaign of Anshu Malik ends

Anshu Malik gave a tough fight to Iryna Kurachkina of Bulgaria in the Round of 16 but ended up losing the fight 8-2 last day. Anshu, had her repechage chance today against Valeria Koblova and suffered a 5-1 defeat which ended her campaign in the Olympics. 

Semi-Final match of Deepak Punia

Indian wrestler Deepak Punia was in action in the semi-finals of the 86 KG category yesterday. Deepak went up against David Taylor of the United States in the bracket. 

David Taylor started with a 3-0 lead in the opening round even though it was a cautious start from the Indian wrestler. Taylor then took the score up to 7-0 pushing Deepak to the back foot. Taylor completed his dominant performance with three more points easily and entered the finals via technical superiority and a score of 10-0. 

How Ravi Kumar Dahiya confirmed Medal by entering finals

Ravi Kumar Dahiya went up against Nurislam Sanayev of Kazakhstan in the semi-finals and had a lead of 2-1 after three minutes. Sanayev, however, went up to 9-2 in the second round but Ravi staged a beautiful comeback to take the score to 9-5. He then managed to get the pin and the win to confirm a spot in the finals of the 57 KG category. With the win, Ravi has confirmed either the Gold or Silver in his Tokyo Campaign. 

Road to Semi-Finals

Indian wrestlers Ravi Kumar Dahiya and Deepak Punia had entered the semi-finals of their respective weight categories earlier today. 

Ravi Kumar Dahiya entered the semi-finals of the 57 KG category in wrestling at the Tokyo Olympics with a win over Georgi Vangelov of Bulgaria. Ravi Kumar dominated the match throughout and had a score of 14-4 before he was adjudged the winner via technical superiority. 

Deepak Punia, meanwhile, had a tense quarter-final against Lin Zushen of China. The score was 3-3 heading into the last seconds and Deepak managed to secure 2 points in the closing seconds to secure a place in the semi-finals. Although the last two points were challenged, it was ruled in favor of India to give a score of 6-3 to the Indian wrestler. 

Journey to the Quarter-Finals: Ravi Kumar Dahiya and Deepak Punia

Ravi Kumar Dahiya cruised into the Quarter-Finals with a win over Tigreros Urbano of Colombia in the Round of 16. Ravi had a comfortable showing in the matchup and had a score of 13-2 in his favor.

Deepak Punia had a strong showing in the Round of 16 against E Agiomor of Nigeria. The Nigerian had an early push in the first round but Deepak left no room for mistakes and completely dominated to get the win and a place in the quarter-finals.

Sonam Malik bows out

Sonam Malik saw her campaign at the Olympics end as she suffered a defeat Bolortuya Khurelkhuu of Mongolia in the Women’s Freestyle 62 KG Round of 16. Sonam also lost the possibility of Repechage as Khurelkhuu lost in the Quarter-Finals.

India has a team of 7 wrestlers at the Tokyo Olympics this year with the likes of Seema Bisla, Bajrang Punia, and Vinesh Phogat yet to compete in their respective categories.

History of Indian Wrestlers at Tokyo Olympics

When we look into the history books, India has won five medals in wrestling so far in the Olympics. The first medal came back in 1952 in Helsinki when Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav took home the Bronze Medal in the Freestyle Bantamweight category.

Sushil Kumar then won two medals at the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Olympics respectively. The fourth medal came thanks to Yogeshwar Dutt at the 2012 Olympics when Sakshi Malik became the latest medal winner for India in wrestling as she clinched the Bronze Medal in the 2016 London Olympics.

What do you think are the chances of the Indian wrestling team at the Olympics? Let us know in the comment section of the article below.

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