Deepak Punia Misses World Wrestling Championship Final, Settles For Silver

India's Deepak Punia had to settle for silver after after missing the final of the men’s freestyle 86kg at the World Wrestling Championship. Deepak Punia had to miss the title clash against Iranian Hasan Yazdanichara due to injuries. Deepak had picked up an injury on his left leg and eye in his earlier fight.

"The left foot is not taking the load. It's difficult to fight in this condition. I know it was a big chance to fight against Yazdani but I can't help it," Deepak told PTI.  The 20-year-old Indian will have to be content with a silver medal in his debut senior world championship. Deepak had come out of the mat limping and with a swollen right eye after his semifinal against Switzerland's Stefan Reichmuth on Saturday. 

In a dream run, Deepak reached the final with wins over Reichmuth, Colombia's Carlos Arturo Mendez and Kazakhstan's  Adilet Davlumbayev. It was a good draw for Deepak and he exploited it to get the biggest medal of his career. Only last year, he had won the junior world championship title. Sushil Kumar remains India's only world champion. He had won a gold in 66kg in 2010 World Championship in Moscow.