In the ongoing Tokyo Olympics, wrestler Bajrang Punia did India proud and has bagged a bronze medal in wrestling. Punia defeated his Kazakh opponent in the men’s freestyle 65kg wrestling match. The 27-year-old got to sing the redemption song after he was defeated 5-12 by his Azerbaijani opponent in the semifinal, and he sing he did. In his bronze bout, Bajrang defeated Daulet Niyazbekov with a clear 8-0 score.

Contents hide
1. Details
2. Round 1
3. Round 2
4. Bajrang’s Road to Medal
5. Prominent Netizens Celebrates Bajrang’s Victory

Details

Star wrestler Bajrang Punia remained the sole medal hope from the wrestling contingent in the ongoing Olympics. And why must he not be? The former Asian Gold Medalist is the only wrestler in the country to have won 3 medals at the World Wrestling Championships. While, his hopes to clinch a silver or gold medal were quashed after he lost the semi-final lost, he got one shot at redemption today, which he certainly did not miss.

The second seeded became the second wrestler-medalist after Ravi Kumar Dahiya’s silver medal exploits that sent a blaze of glory across the country recently. Bajrang’s medal became the sixth overall medal for India and after his glorious victory, shockwave of celebrations were felt across the nation.

Also Read: Neeraj Chopra Creates History – Bags India’s First Ever Javelin Throw Gold Medal in Olympics

Round 1

Kazakh opponent Daulet had as horrifying a start as one could ask for in a medal match. Not only did he initiated the game with conceding a penalty, he also started off passively and gave Bajrang a psychological advantage.

However, that did not last long and Daulet soon struck back like a viper scorned. Bajrang, thanks to his defensive tactics managed to curb Daulet’s attack and keep the lead to 2-0 by the end of the first round.

Also Read: Ravi Dahiya Wins Silver in 57kg Wrestling, Deepak Punia Bows Out in Bronze Bout

Round 2

Round 2 began and it was evident in the attacking game of both the players that a realization has dawned upon them – its now or never. Bajrang continued on his attack while Daulet found himself looking for a non-existent counter to Daulet’s attack and score the lead transformed from 2-0 to 4-0 with just 1 minute left from the countdown.

The remaining few seconds of the game saw Daulet initiate a soft attack on Bajrang and the latter capitalized to take the lead from 4 to 6-0 and then 8-0.

Also Read: Tokyo Olympics 2020: Mirabai Chanu Wins Silver Medal, India’s Medal Hunt Begins

Bajrang’s Road to Medal

Bajrang was carrying the hopes of a billion Indians for bringing home the gold as he was the second seeded in the Olympics and was in a rich vein of form. His qualification to this year’s Olympcis was a historic one as he won 3 silver medals at the 2019 World Championships. Further, in 2018, he also won a gold medal at the Asian Games.

Bajrang’s road to medal started off well thanks to his thumping victory via fall in the quarter-final. While the bout was a thrilling one with Bajrang trailing by 0-1, he managed to pin his opponent during the second period.

Before that, he beat another Kazakh wrestler Ernazar Akmataliev in the pre-quarters and won by technical superiority.

Also Read: Chak De! Indian Hockey Team Makes History, Wins Bronze & Ends 41-year Olympic Medal Drought

Prominent Netizens Celebrates Bajrang’s Victory

On his victory, prominent netizens – from political leaders, to sportspersons, to influencers – lauded Bajrang and celebrated the moment.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter and wrote, “Delightful news from #Tokyo2020! Spectacularly fought @BajrangPunia. Congratulations to you for your accomplishment, which makes every Indian proud and happy.”

Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar too congratulated Punia and wrote, “Another exemplary performance! Congratulations #BajrangPunia on winning the #bronze, you fought like a champion. #Tokyo2020”

Kiren Rijuju, Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar, Anurag Thakur and others too took to Twitter and celebrated Bajrang’s Olympic medal.