Wrestlers Bajrang Punia, Ravi Kumar Dahiya seal Tokyo Olympic berths
India had another strong day at the ongoing World Wrestling Championships. The likes of Bajrang Punia and Ravi Kumar Dahiya registered victories in their respective bouts to confirm their places at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. This happened after Vinesh Phogat registered her spot on Wednesday after bagging a first World Championship medal. Here are all the details.
Besides earning their respective spots at the 2020 Olympics, both Punia and Dahiya advanced into the semi-finals at the ongoing World Championships. The duo will be vying for medals. Celebrated wrestler Punia defeated North Korea's Jong Son 8-2 in the quarter-final of the 65 kg category. Whereas, Dahiya was at his best to beat Yuki Takahashi of Japan 6-1 in the 57 kg category.
Meanwhile, Sakshi Malik (62 kg) bowed out of the tournament after losing in the round of 16. Malik succumbed to a defeat against Aminat Adeniyi of Nigeria. The Indian grappler trailed by 0-5 and fought back to make it 7-10. But Adeniyi kept her focus to seal the match. However, the Nigerian was beaten by Yuliia Tkach of Ukraine to end Malik's campaign.
Meanwhile, Divya Kakran (68 kg) went down against reigning Olympic and former world champion Sara Dosho of Japan. However, USA's Tamyra Mensah later thrashed Dosho 10-1 in the semis to blow away Kakran's hopes of a repachage round.
Earlier on Wednesday, Vinesh Phogat (53 kg) added a World Championships bronze medal in her kitty. This was an icing to the cake after she confirmed her quota place for the Tokyo 2020 games earlier. Phogat beat her Greek opponent Maria Prevolaraki in the bronze medal match. Earlier, Phogat's best performance at the World Championships was tenth.
