Bajrang just one win away from gold

Budapest, October 21 

Bajrang Punia put himself in contention for a historic World Championships gold after quelling a spirited challenge from Alejandro Enrique Valdes Tobier in their 65kg semifinal bout at the World Championships. Punia had to use all his mental and physical prowess to down his Cuban opponent (4-3) in the semifinals. There were not many attacking moves in the semifinal with both Punia and Tobier mostly using the upper body power. Punia opened the scoring with a takedown but the Cuban reduced the margin by pushing the Indian out. Seconds before the first break, Punia took a 4-1 lead with a throw move.

In the second period, the Cuban found a two-point move at the edge of the circle. Tobier tried everything but the Indian maintained his lead to emerge victorious. However, three of his compatriots bowled out before making the medal round. 

Earlier, Punia held off a late charge from Mongolia’s Tulga Tumur Ochir to register a 5-3 win in the quarterfinals. Sandeep Tomar lost his second-round bout to Azerbaijan’s Giorgi Edisherashvili. Sachin Rathi was outplayed 1-13 by Mongolian wrestler Unurbat Purevjav in the 79kg qualification round. Deepak, competing in the 92kg, lost his pre-quarterfinal bout 0-4 to Liubomyr Sagaliuk of Ukraine. — PTI