Another Punia to the fore

Nur-Sultan (Kazakhstan), Sept 21

Reigning junior world champion Deepak Punia placed himself in line for the senior world title by reaching the 86kg final, after booking a Tokyo Olympics quota for India here today.

Competing in his maiden senior World Championships, Punia entered the final with a commanding 8-2 win over Switzerland’s Stefan Reichmuth. He will fight for the title against the formidable Hassan Yazdanicharati of Iran. Yazdanicharati won gold in the 74kg category at the 2016 Rio Olympics before moving up to 86kg, in which he won gold at last year’s Asian Games.

It has been a steady progress for Punia, who won the World Cadet title in 2016 and became the junior world champion only last month in Estonia. Punia can now emulate double Olympics medallist Sushil Kumar, the only Indian to have won a World Championships title, in 2010.

Punia also ensured that India would return from the World Championships with its best ever performance: Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia and Ravi Dahiya have already won a bronze medal. India had returned with three medals in 2013.

Rahul Aware can make it better if he wins tomorrow’s bronze medal bout in the 61kg non-Olympics category. He lost his semifinal bout 6-10 to Beka Lomtadze of Georgia.

Punia Power

Punia’s all-round ability — defence, attack, stamina and awareness on the mat — played a key role in his memorable performance. “I had genuinely hoped for a medal and Olympics quota. So, it is a double delight for me. My seniors like Sushil Kumar and Bajrang Punia inspire me,” he said. “I felt a bit under pressure when I fought with the Kazakh wrestler (in quarterfinals). He had beaten me in Italy early this year and I was a bit apprehensive about fighting the home wrestler because of the Bajrang bout (controversy).”

There was little action in the first period of the semifinal, with Punia gaining a 1-0 lead on activity clock. In the second period, Punia pushed Reichmuth out and took the Swiss down for a 4-0 lead. He lost two points but another takedown and expose move clinched it for him.

Punia, who trains at Chhatrasal Stadium in Delhi, had booked an Olympics quota after prevailing 7-6 in a tense semifinal against Colombia’s Carlos Arturo Mendez. Punia was trailing 3-6 with one minute to go, but he pulled off a takedown and an expose move in the dying moments of the tense bout.

Punia had prevailed home wrestler Adilet Davlumbayev in the opening round, despite trailing 0-5. In the second round, he was hardly troubled by Tajikistan’s Bakhodur Kodirov, whom he beat 6-0 to move into the quarterfinals.

Aware’s progress

Also doing a commendable job was Aware, who reached the bronze medal round in the 61kg category after reaching the semifinals. Aware lost a pacy semifinal 6-10 to Lomtadze, the European Championship silver medallist. Aware had defeated Kerim Hojakov to reach the quarterfinals, where he faced Kazakhstan’s Rassul Kaliyev. It was a very tough bout but the Indian proved craftier, winning 10-7 in a roller-coaster bout.

Chhatrasal product

Deepak Punia is popularly known as Kaitleey Pehalwaan among his colleagues at Chhatrasal Stadium in Delhi. Punia is a son of a milkman from Chhara village in Jhajjar. The 20-year-old shifted to Chhatrasal Stadium in 2014 at the insistence of coach Satpal, who was impressed by the rookie wrestler in the state tournament. Deepak’s story of struggle is almost similar to Bajrang Punia. Like Bajrang, Punia’s family too is from an agricultural background. His father Subhash Punia is a farmer and owns a dairy farm. Both Bajrang and Deepakcut their teeth at Lala Dewanchand Wrestling and Yog Centre in Chhara initially.

 4 The Indian wrestlers will return from the World Championships with their best ever performance as the country is now assured of four medals. Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia and Ravi Dahiya have already won bronze each. All of them qualified for the Tokyo Olympics as well. India had returned with three medals in 2013