New Delhi:
Ravi Dahiya, who is making his debut at World Wrestling Championships, has won a bronze medal in the men's 57 kg category. Dahiya defeated Reza Ahmadali Atrinagharchi of Iran 6-3 to win bronze.
Meanwhile, Dahiya has booked his tickets for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after upsetting former World Champion Yuki Takahashi 6-1 in the quarter-finals of the 57-kg weight category.
ALSO READ | Bajrang Punia Beats Mongolia’s Tumur Ochir To Win World Wrestling Championship Bronze
Before that, Kumar overcame a stiff challenge from Armenia's Arsen Harutyunyan and emerged victorious by winning the bout 17-6 in the pre-quarterfinals. He had opened his campaign by thrashing Sunggwon Kim of Korea 11-0.
Earlier in the day, a consistent Bajrang Punia registered his third medal at the World Wrestling Championships by defeating his Mongolian opponent Tumur Ochir 8-7 in the 65kh weight category.
Punia, who had won the Silver last year, made a stunning comeback from 6-0 deficit to win the bout 8-7. He had earlier won a bronze in 2013.
Punia faced a charged up Ochir, who took two points in the first 20 seconds and then bagged four more with a powerful chest throw. Down by 6-0, Punia tried to reduce to difference by scoring 2 points. At the end of the first round, Ochir looked all set to win the bout with the scorecard reading 6-2.
However, Punia, who suffered a heart-breaking defeat in the semi-final, had other things in mind. He came out too strong for Ochir to handle in the second round and collected 6 consecutive points with a leg shot. Now, the scorecard read 8-6 in favour of the Indian wrester.
In the end, the bout ended with the final scorecard reading 8-7 in favour of Punia. This was the second consecutive World Championship Medal for Punia. He had won the silver in 2018 World Wrestling Championships held in Budapest. With his qualification for the bronze medal bout, Punia was already qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
