Commonwealth Games 2018 : Wrestler Bajrang Punia wins Gold in freestyle 65 kg, Silver for Pooja Dhanda
India’s gold rush at the 2018 Commonwealth Games has continued with Bajrang Punia delivering a 17th yellow metal in the men’s freestyle 65kg while compatriot Mausam Khatri took the 97kg silver at the 21st Commonwealth Games 2018 (CWG 2018) here Friday.
Bajrang Punia, who won a 61kg silver four years ago at the Glasgow Games, turned in an utterly dominating performance against Kane Charig of Wales, whom he defeated 10-0 in just over two minutes. Bajrang won the highest accolade for Indian wrestling last year, a 65kg freestyle gold medal at the Asian Wrestling Championship in New Delhi. On his way to the summit, Bajrang had beaten the previous Asian Championship gold-medalist Meisam Nassiri 7-5 in the quarter-finals.
His second gold of the year came at the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in the Ashgabat, where he beat Daichi Takatani of Japan, and there was also a silver medal at the Under-23 World Wrestling Championship – his first at world level in an Olympic weight category.
Pooja Dhanda won silver in the women’s 57kg freestyle after losing her final match against Olympic bronze medalist and the two-time World Championship medalist Odunayo Adekuoroye of Nigeria.
Pooja Dhanda was at her fighting best during her bout as she had almost turned it around in the last 30 seconds. Trailing 1-6, Pooja Dhanda almost got the job done with a near pinfall but Odunayo was lucky to survive. The 24-year-old from Gudana in Haryana’s Hisar district had earlier turned down an offer to play three-time CWG medalist Babita Kumari Phogat in Hindi cinema’s all-time grosser Dangal to stay focused on her wrestling career.
Also read – CWG 2018 : Anish becomes India’s youngest-ever Gold medalist, Silver for Anjum Moudgil
