Heartbreak for Bajrang Punia at Asian Wrestling Championship

Japanese Otoguro tops Indian in repeat of 2018 Worlds final, coach says be patient
India’s Bajrang Punia fights against Abbos Rakhmonov of Uzbekistan in men’s 65kg on Saturday | AP
India’s Bajrang Punia fights against Abbos Rakhmonov of Uzbekistan in men’s 65kg on Saturday | AP

NEW DELHI:  The penultimate day’s action in the Asian Wrestling Championship was set to witness four Indian grapplers vying for gold. Satyawart Kadian, Gourav Baliyan came and fought and returned dejected. But the losses did not seem to perturb the people who gathered inside the KD Jadhav Wrestling Hall on Saturday. It seemed like they were waiting for someone else, someone whose mere presence would be enough to secure gold.

And the man of the hour arrived for the 12th bout of the night, his fourth of the day. Bajrang Punia, India’s brightest medal hope for the Tokyo Olympics, was serenaded by vociferous roars and shrieks from the partisan crowd. The 25-year-old was up against Japan’s Otoguro Takuto, in a rematch of the 2018 World Championship final. The Japanese had prevailed back then. The time was ripe for Bajrang to avenge that 15-9 loss. He was at his dominating best, winning all three bouts via technical superiority. He started by defeating Dzhamshed Sharifov of Tajikistan 11-0 before going past former junior Asian champion Abbos Rakhmonov 12-2. In the semifinal, Punia wrestled junior world champion Amirhossein Maghsoudi of Iran and totally tired him out to win 11-0.

The Japanese started the more defensive of the two, going for pushouts rather than attacking points. Despite Otoguro winning the first two points, chants of ‘Jai Bajrangbali’ resounded inside the hall, in a bid to awaken the Indian. While Bajrang did claim the next point, it went all downhill from there. He tried to force the issue, going for his opponent’s legs but each time, the world champion managed to counter and pin him. Ultimately, he secured gold with a 10-2 victory. The roars were soon replaced by pin drop silence. In the mixed zone, a disappointed Bajrang refused to speak while his coach Shako Bentinidis offered his thoughts.

“It’s better to lose now than during the Olympics. No point in peaking now. We still have five months before Tokyo. His opponent was fast and quick to counter. Bajrang knows what he must do better next time. This loss is not a big worry.” The coach also spoke about the pressure of expectations. “We have been working together for close to two years. I can safely admit that reaching the top is much easier than maintaining top spot. Especially in this weight category. This is by far the toughest category and all top 10 wrestlers in this section are capable of clinching gold on any given day. Also, the media and the people expect Bajrang to just step onto the mat and clinch gold.”

Technical faults

On two separate occasions, the LED screens inside the stadium went blank, while the 97kg medal ceremony had to be stopped due to the flag-hoisting machine not functioning properly. All of this led to a delay.

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