CWG 2022: Bajrang Punia in final; four wrestlers to battle for gold

Bajrang Punia (right) competes against George Ramm in semis. Pic/PTI

India's star grappler Bajrang Punia entered the final of the men's 65kg freestyle category after defeating England's George Ramm via technical superiority here on Friday. Bajrang was dominant, just as he has was in the quarter-final against Jean Guyliane Joris Bandou of Mauritius. Earlier, Bajrang needed less than two minutes to move into the quarter-finals as he pinned down Naurau's Lowe Bingham in his opening bout, here on Friday. Bajrang, who has entered the field as the defending champion, measured his rival for about a minute and then put him on the mat from a lock position to finish the bout in a jiffy. Bingham had no clue what struck him as the wrestler from the island nation was at sea.

Sakshi, Anshu, Deepak in final too

Sakshi Malik, Anshu Malik and Deepak Punia are assured of at least a silver after entering the final of their respective categories, while Divya Kakran and Mohit Grewal will fight for bronze. Sakshi overpowered Cameroon's Berthe Emilienne Etane Ngolle in the 62kg semis. Anshu beat Sri Lanka's Nethmi Poruthotage in the 57kg event. Deepak Punia (65kg) beat Canada's Alexander Moore.

Also Read: CWG 2022: Para TT player Bhavina Patel guarantees India a medal

Morning session halted

Meanwhile, in an embarrassing incident for the organisers, the wrestling bouts had to be stopped and spectators were asked to vacate the hall after an audio equipment fell from the ceiling, minutes after the first session began. Fans and officials were asked to leave the arena for a ‘health and safety check' as chaos reigned supreme on the opening day of the wrestling competition. The morning session was halted for more than two hours.

A security officer and an Indian, Scottish and Pakistan team official told PTI that a speaker fell from the hall ceiling leading to a long delay. The session was stopped at 11.22 local time and then it was announced that action would resume at 12.15. The resumption timing was changed thrice at the time of writing.

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