In the 14th day of the Tokyo Olympics 2020, Ravi Kumar Dahiya made his country proud by winning silver in the 57kg freestyle wrestling while wrestler Deepak Punia finally bowed out in his bronze bout. The matches by the two freestyle wrestlers came on a day when the millions of people across the nation were already riding the wave of victory, thanks to Indian hockey’s bronze performance. In his final bout, Dahiya lost to Zavur Uguev from Russian Olympic Committee (ROC).

Contents hide
1. Details
2. Round 1 – Uguev Takes 2-0 Lead
3. Round 1 Ends – Dahiya Makes Minor Comeback, Uguev Leads 4-2
4. Round 2 – Uguev Turns the Heat on, Dahiya Gets More Points
5. Final Few Moments
6. Deepak Punia Loses Bronze, Wins Hearts
7. Round 1 – Deepak Gets 2-0 Lead
8. Round 1 Ends – Deepak Leads at 2-1
9. The Heartbreaking Finish

Details

The stage was set, the hot tea was being distributed, all eyes were glued to the screens and all the hopes were pinned on the able shoulder of Ravi Kumar Dahiya, the man who became the next-door name thanks to his recent series of victories in the Olympics 2020.

Dahiya was to play for a shining gold and was paired against Zavur Uguev from ROC. The 23-year-old Olympian gave his Russian competitor a tough fight, and eventually had to settle for a silver medal he had already secured on August 4 by making it into the final.

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Round 1 – Uguev Takes 2-0 Lead

The bout started with both the players showing their defensive strength, not giving a point away and trying to push the other one out of the ring. However, it was Uguev who managed to do so. Just in the initial minutes, he pushed Dahiya out of the area and took a 2-0 lead.

Round 1 Ends – Dahiya Makes Minor Comeback, Uguev Leads 4-2

As the game progressed, Dahiya scripted a minor comeback, something he’s now well known for, and picked up 2 points. But soon Ugev played for an advantage after taking the score to 4-2. The first period was clocking down to its end and Ravi looked to be trying with all his might to score a few more points. That didn’t happen and the score remained at 4-2.

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Round 2 – Uguev Turns the Heat on, Dahiya Gets More Points

The second period started with Uguev asserting more pressure on Dahiya and pushed the latter out of the space to go 5-2. The pressure was getting to Dahiya, who ended up being outplayed by Uguev’s defense and the score went to 7-2. Somehow, Dahiya gave Indian fans a glimmer of hope as he picked up a couple of points to shorten the gap to 4-7.

Final Few Moments

In the final few minutes of the game, the sheer tenacity and hunger for gold was visible in Dahiya who played with all his might but it was Uguev emerged victorious with 7-4 After is well-fought game, Prominent Indian netizens took to twitter and applauded him.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter and wrote, “Ravi Kumar Dahiya is a remarkable wrestler! His fighting spirit and tenacity are outstanding. Congratulations to him for winning the Silver Medal at #Tokyo2020. India takes great pride in his accomplishments.”

Former Youth Sports Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju wrote, “Ravi Kumar Dahiya, you are Indian hero! You have made India proud by winning Olympic Silver medal !!Hearty Congratulations on the great performance at the #Tokyo2020 #Cheer4India.

Also Read: Tokyo Olympics: Lovlina Borgohain Clinches Bronze, Goes Down Fighting Against World Champion

Deepak Punia Loses Bronze, Wins Hearts

Deepak Punia, who confirmed his bronze bout yesterday, couldn’t carry forward his medal dreams any further. Punia was playing against Myles Amine from San Marino in the 86kg freestyle wrestling event. Punia came just a few inches away from securing his bronze and was fighting tooth and nail to maintain his lead. But after the dust settled, the San Marino wrestler got the best of Punia and defeated him 3-2.

Round 1 – Deepak Gets 2-0 Lead

The game started with the San Marino wrestler already interested in locking Punia’s legs. This strategy didn’t work as Punia managed to crawl his way out of the lock. Not only did he not get locked, he also managed to then hold off his opponent and won a couple of points.

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Round 1 Ends – Deepak Leads at 2-1

Then Amine halved the gap between points and at the 2-minute mark, got a single point to take the game to 2-1 at the break. Deepak was still on the lead, and was eying the bronze.

The Heartbreaking Finish

In the second and decisive round, Amine managed to tire Punia out and the Indian wrestler was looking weary. With just 1 minute to go, Punia still was leading fine, but Amine upped the ante in the final few seconds and a weary Deepak conceded points to eventually lose the game with 3-2.

His well fought defeat earned him applause from prominent Twitteratis as well.