Ravi Dahiya qualifies for wrestling final, Deepak Punia to bronze match

Anshu Malik has also qualified for the repechage round in women's 57kg event.

Indian star wrestler Ravi Kumar Dahiya advanced to the final of men's freestyle 57 kg final at the Tokyo Olympics 2020, as he defeated Nurislam Sanayev on Kazakhstan on Wednesday afternoon. However, his compatriot Deepak Punia failed to qualify for the final in his category as he was beaten by David Morris Taylor in the semifinals at the mega event.

Ravi Dahiya has now ensured either of the gold or silver for the county as he progressed to the final, which will be taking on August 5, from 2:45 PM. He will face Zaur Uguev in the final, who will be participating under the ROC flag.

Meanwhile, Deepak Punia, who lost against David Morris Taylor in the 86kg event, has progressed to the bronze medal match - which will take place on August 5 as well.

Let's find out how Ravi Dahiya and Deepak Punia found their way into the final and the bronze medal match on Wednesday.

Ravi Dahiya showcasing his supremacy

Ravi Dahiya was the first up in action in the wrestling event at the Tokyo Olympics, as he faced Colombia's Oscar Eduardo in the pre-quarters. He came away as the winner on technical superiority by 13-2 points and made his way into the quarter-final.

The 2019 World Championships bronze medallist set up a clash against Bulgaria’s Georgi Vangelov in the next round. Ravi continued his masterclass and won 14-4 through technical superiority. He made his way into the semifinals of the 57 kg category as a result.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tq1ajR0qxYU&pp=sAQA

Ravi Dahiya faced Nurislam Sanayev of Uzbekistan in the semifinal. The match was a roller coaster of emotions. Ravi's opponent shot into a 9-2 lead, three points away from winning on technical superiority. However, the Indian turned the tides, brought the score to 9-7 and then won the bout with a pin fall. The comeback victory now takes him to the final and assures a silver medal at the least.

The match will be taking place on August 5 at 2:45 PM IST.  

https://youtu.be/5iygKOmf0nI

Deepak Punia showing his prowess

Deepak Punia was the second seed in the 86 kg category in the wrestling event at the Tokyo Olympics. He was up against Nigeria’s Ekerekeme Agiomor in the pre-quarters. Punia dismantled him by a 12-1 victory through technical superiority.

However, the quarterfinal was a tougher challenge for him against China’s Zushen Lin. Although he won the bout by 6-3, it required critical thinking in the last few seconds from Deepak to execute the winning move. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nGI4-65rrs&pp=sAQA

Deepak Punia set up a clash with American wrestler David Morris Taylor III in the semi-final.

The Indian athlete was shocked by the immense force the American came at him. An inspired performance from Taylor saw him run away with a 10-0 victory with technical superiority. He never let Punia get the upper hand in the match and marched into the finals.

Deepak Punia has now advanced to the bronze medal match, which will be held on August 5, from 2:45 PM onwards.

Anshu Malik to repechage

Young Indian wrestling sensation Anshu Malik, who had lost against Irina Kurachkina in the 1/8 final round, has found her way to the repechage round of her event. The event is scheduled for August 5, 7:30 AM IST.

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