Tokyo Olympics: Wrestler Bajrang Punia moves to semifinal
(Sourced from PTI)
Bajrang Punia put his tactical acumen and strength to good use in the second period to pin Iran's Morteza Cheka Ghiasi for a semifinal berth in men's free-style 65kg event which took him closer to an Olympic medal on debut, in Tokyo on Friday. Punia trailed Ghiasi for a major part of the bout after being severely crippled by Ghiasi's defensive tactics, especially body-locks.
Twice the Indian was put on activity clock and also left to defend his right leg when Ghiasi got hold of it. As the second period moved toward the final minute, the Iranian looked like making a dangerous move when he got hold of Punia's right leg and had almost pulled off a take down.
But Punia not only wriggled out of that clutch, but he also locked the neck of Ghiasi, pushed him on the mat, and held him to emerge victorious by fall. He will now fight it out with Azerbaijan's Haji Aliev for a place in the gold medal bout. Aliev is a three-time world champion and a bronze winner from the Rio Games.
Before this bout, a timely take-down move helped him beat Kyrgyzstan's Ernazar Akmataliev in his opening bout. Since Punia had the high-scoring move, a two-pointer takedown, he was declared the winner on criteria.
Earlier, debutante Indian wrestler Seema Bisla could not find a way to get out of the defensive trap of Tunisia's Sarra Hamdi and lost her 50kg opening round 1-3. The 27-year-old could not make her moves as the Tunisian applied the body lock to great effect, never allowing the Indian to initiate a strong attack.
There were hardly any moves in the bout with Hamdi getting two of her three points on a push-out and one on Bisla's passivity. Bisla got on board when she too pushed her rival out after being put on the activity clock for a second time. She now needs the Tunisian to make the final for a return to competition through the repechage route.
