Day 6: Bajrang, Sakshi Start Campaign Today
After an action packed Wednesday, Day 6 of the World Wrestling Championships in Kazakhstan will see four Indian wrestlers including top seed Bajrang Punia and Olympic medallist Sakshi Malik start their campaigns.
Pooja Dhanda will also be competing in the bronze medal after she suffered a loss in the semifinal yesterday. A win today will make her the first female wrestler and only second Indian to win two World medals. Only Bajrang Punia has achieved the feat.
On Wednesday, Vinesh Phogat secured Tokyo Olympics qualification and also opened India’s medal tally at the Worlds with a bronze – also her maiden podium finish at the coveted tournament.
No Medal on Day 6
Just 3 hours back India was on the cusp of winning three big medals at the World Championships but the evening session at Nur-Sultan hasn’t exactly gone India’s way. In fact, it hasn’t at all.
World number one Bajrang Punia was handed a contentious defeat by local wrestler Daulet Niyazbekov despite coming from behind and tying the score 9-9 by the end of the 6 minutes of the bout.
Ravi Kumar Dahiya ended a few favourites’ campaigns on his way to the semis but in the end, the challenge provided by reigning world champion Zaur Uguev proved a bit too much as he lost 4-6.
Both wrestlers however have qualified for the Olympics by virtue of finishing in the top 6 of their respective categories. They will also be in action tomorrow to fight for the bronze.
Among the women, both Sakhi Malik and Divya Kakran lost their opening round bouts and with their opponents failing to reach the final, their campaigns have now ended without a medal.
Pooja Dhanda was fighting for a bronze in the evening session today but lost 3-5 to Pei Xingru of China in the 59kg category. Pooja was aiming to become the first female Indian wrestler to win multiple World Championship medals. Last year, Dhanda won a bronze in the women's freestyle 57kg weight class which is what she usually competes in but after losing the national trials in the discipline earlier this summer, she chose to compete in a category higher at the Worlds.
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Pooja Loses Bronze Medal Match
30 second left on the clock and Pooja was trailing 1-3 when Xingru picked up 2 more points to take a 5-1 lead.
There was a late flourish from Pooja and as the clock ran out, she challenged for 4 points. The referees took a while to give their verdict but in the end awarded the Indian 2 points. Not enough, though as Dhanda misses the chance to become India’s first female wrestler to win two World Championship medals.
She’s lost the bout 3-5.
Pooja's Bronze-Medal Match Underway
A bronze medallist from the 2018 World Championships, Pooja is fighting for another bronze right now and she’s trailing 0-1 at the end of the first period.
She’s up against China’s Pei Xingru and lost the point after being put on the clock for passivity.
Bajrang Loses Semi-final
Bajrang Punia has fought his way into the game and the score is now tied at 9-9.
The clock however has run out.
The Kazakh wrestler is celebrating as he’s been awarded the victory by virtue of winning the biggest point in the game - when he picked the contentious 4 points in the first period. In fact, the point was even reviewed by India as the Bajrang camp believed the move was initiated by him and thus, he should've been awarded the 4 points. The judges ruled against him which had cost him an extra one point.
All is not over for the 2-time World Champion. Bajrang will fight for the bronze medal tomorrow.