WRESTLING ACTION HIGHLIGHTS
Men’s 125kg Bronze Medal match: Aaron Johnson loses to Mohit Grewal by fall - Mohit Grewal wins BRONZE!
- Mohit pins Aaron and takes the bronze medal with a win by fall!
- Second point for Grewal after pushing Aaron off the mat. One more point goes his way with a similar attack that forces Aaron past the boundary.
- Mohit Grewal gets a point within 30 seconds of the bout.
Women’s 68kg Bronze Medal match: Divya Kakran beats Tiger Lemalie in a win by fall - Divya wins Bronze!
- Divya Kakran wraps Tiger Lily under 26 seconds for a win by fall to clinch the bronze medal, wow!
Men’s 86kg Final: Deepak Punia (IND) 3-0Md. Inam (PAK) - Deepak Punia wins GOLD!
- Commonwealth Games GOLD medal for 23-year-old Deepak Punia - 4th medal of the night and third gold. What a start by the Indian wrestlers in Birmingham!
- 50 seconds to go. Inam in desperation to make inroads but Punia wears a sturdy defence.
- Round two begins. Punia pulls on the aggressive front as Inam attempts to evade and loses another point.
- First point for Punia as he pushes Inam off the mat for a point. Another point for the Indian for Inam’s passivity.
- Inam atempts for a takedown and Punia jerks him to the floor.
- Action begins. Deepak Punia has a massive challenge as he faces the Pakistani veteran who is a two-time CWG champion.
Women’s 62kg Final: Sakshi Malik beats Ana Gonzalez (CAN) by fall - Sakshi Malik wins GOLD
- Sakshi strikes back with a sensational takedown. She pins Gonzalez to record a spectacular comeback win by fall! India’s second wrestling gold medal at CWG 2022 and Sakshi’s first gold in Commonwealth Games!
- Gonzalez leads 4-0 after the first round.
- Gonzalez clinches another brilliant takedown and Sakshi gives away another two points.
- Sakshi slips in her bid for a takedown and Gonzalez takes command for two points.
- The 2018 bronze medallist Sakshi Malik enters with an eye on her first CWG gold medal.
Men’s 65kg Final: Bajrang Punia 9-2 Lachlan McNeil (CAN) wins gold medal
- Another takedown for Bajrang Punia and India gets its seventh gold medal! Bajrang Punia defends his CWG title in emphatic fashion!
- Bajrang targets the right leg once again and gets another point to lead McNeil 7-2.
- Bajrang goes for another single-leg attack and pushes McNeil off the mat for two more points.
- And McNeil breaks through with a brilliant takedown for two points.
- Bajrang forces McNeil off the mat for a point, a 4-0 lead.
- Bajrang gets a point for a one-leg attack and converts it to a takedown for two more points!
- And the final begins. McNeil aims to get hold of Bajrang early on but he avoids any imminent attack.
- Defending champion Bajrang Punia will eye his third CWG medal as he enters the mat alongside McNeil.
Women’s 57kg Final: Anshu Malik (IND) 3-7 Odunayo Adekuoraye (NGR) - Anshu Malik wins silver medal
- Anshu finds three points off a takedown with just six seconds remaining on the clock and nearly pulls off the takedown that would have put her level. Anshu Malik is challenging the last point. Palpitating moments for Indian fans. Challenge lost and Anshu Malik wins the silver medal. A third straight CWG gold for Odunayo.
- Odunayo completes another takedown for two points and that should in all certainty settle this bout.
- Anshu receives a point for passivity from Odunayo. Under a minute to finish.
- Round two. Odunayo’s brilliant defence stops Anshu from making any inroads.
- Odunayo leads 4-0 with another nimble takedown.
- Odunayo is deft in her movement and denies any opening to Anshu. Another warning for the Indian for twisting fingers.
- The referee has asked both wrestlers not to twist fingers.
- A fierce grapple to begin the bout. Odunayo gets a takedown that fetches her two points!
- Game on. Round 1 starts.
- Anshu and Odunayo walk out to the mat.
The final set of wrestling matches have begun at Coventry Arena.
Anshu Malik will be first in line to stake a claim for the gold medal in 15 minutes.
The gold medal and bronze medal matches are expected to start soon . Stay tuned.
UP NEXT: India’s wrestling medal matches schedule
Women’s 68kg repechage: Divya Kakran (IND) beats Blandine Ngiri (CMR) by fall.
Men’s 125kg semifinal: Mohit Grewal (IND) 2-12 Amarveer Dhesi (CAN)
- Dhesi ties down Mohit to reach the final on a 11-2 margin. Harrowing defeat for the Indian who never got going after the initial point.
- Dhesi marks a resounding comeback with two locks and twists and takes a 8-2 lead. Mohit is suffering from an injury on his feet and receives medication.
- Mohit takes the early lead with a nimble pin for two points. And Dhesi pegs back with two points.
Divya Kakran gets a repechage
LIVE: Men’s 86kg semifinal: Deepak Punia (IND) 3-1 Alexander Moore (CAN)
- Deepak Punia is through to the 86kg final - by 3-1 win through points.
- Deepak Punia is pushed down and Moore gets a point.
- A three-point lead for Deepak in the second round. Deepak’s been slow off the blocks in the semifinal after a breezy win in the previous round. Moore is keeping him on his toes.
- Deepak and Alexander are in a stranglehold for the lead. Punia takes the first point.
Men’s 65kg semifinal: Bajrang Punia (IND) 10-0 George Ramm (ENG)
- Outstanding stuff from Bajrang who demolishes Ramm in a minute by technical superiority, becomes the third Indian in the final.
Women’s 62kg semifinal: Sakshi Malik (IND) 10-0 Berthe Ngolle (CMR)
- Sakshi Malik waltzes to a 10-0 win over Berthe by technical superiority. She becomes the second Indian to reach the final and it’s raining medals coming India’s way!
Women’s 57kg Semifinal: Anshu Malik (IND) 10-0 Nethmi Poruthotage (SL)
- Anshu storms to a 10-0 technical superiority win over Nethmi. She reaches the final and assures India another medal!
- A brilliant takedown and two twists give Anshu a 4-0 lead.
Men’s 86kg Quarterfinal: Deepak Punia (IND) vs Sheku Kassegbama (SLE)
- Deepak Punia attempts to beat Sheku by pulling him down for a victory by fall but narrowly misses out. He takes a 6-0 lead and there it goes! A 10-0 win by technical superiority. He becomes the fifth India to reach the semifinals.
Women’s 68kg Quarterfinal: Divya Kakran (IND) 0-10 Blessing Oborududu (NGR)
- Blessing moves to the semifinal with a technical superiority win over Divya Kakran.
- Seems like it’s all over for Kakran as Oborududu moves to a 9-0 lead.
- Oborodudu lifts herself to a 5-0 lead at the end of the first round. Can Kakran make a comeback from here?
- Oborududu takes the lead with a point.
Men’s 65kg Quarterfinal: Bajrang Punia (IND) 6-0 Jean Bandou (MRI)
- It is 4/4* for India, Bajrang enters the semifinal in style.
- Bajrang pins Bandou in the first round to win by 6-0 margin. What a competitior. As easy as it could get!
Men’s 125kg Quarterfinal: Mohit Grewal (IND) 10-1 Alexios Kaouslidis (CYP)
- Mohit beats Alexios 10-1 on points, through to the semifinals!
- Mohit starts round two with another solid start and moves to a 10-1 lead with some firm holds.
- Mohit Grewal claws back by pinning Alexious to take the lead. Back-to-back pins from the big Indian and Mohit takes a 4-1 lead.
- Seems to be a close contest at the moment. Alexios takes the first point for a slender lead.
Women’s 62kg Quarterfinal: Sakshi Malik (IND) 10-0 Kelsey Barnes (ENG)
- And the contest begins. An excellent grapple rightaway from Sakshi and she storms to a 6-0 lead. Sakshi pins Kelsey down once again and racks up a 10-0 win by technical superiority - enters the semifinal in some style!
Women’s 57kg Quartefinal: Anshu Malik (IND)10-0 Irene Symeonidis (AUS)
- Anshu Malik gets a brilliant start with an excellent pin on Symeonidis to get 8 points straightaway! And there we go, Anshu clinches the bout in under a minute by 10-0 - technical superiority!
Indian results so far
- Bajrang Punia (IND) beat Matthew Oxenham (NZ) 10-0 in Round of 16
- Deepak Punia (IND) beat Lowe Bingham (NRU) 4-0 in Round of 16.
We have had a brief hold-up in action after the Round of 16 at Coventry Arena. Here’s what happened:
PREVIEW
As the Indian wrestlers are all set to take the mat in Birmingham to resume their supremacy in the Commonwealth Games, one is compelled to ask: “How many gold medals this time?”
Superpower India had won 12 medals, including five golds, covering all categories in Gold Coast four years ago. This time, a star-studded Indian side will look to improve its overall performance while retaining its top spot.
Worlds and Olympics medallist Bajrang Punia (65kg), Worlds medallist Vinesh Phogat (53kg), Olympics medallist Sakshi Malik (62kg) and Asian champion Divya Kakran (68kg) will be keen to continue their success stories.
Going for a third
Bajrang, Vinesh and Sakshi are going for their third successive medal. Vinesh, who has recovered from an elbow surgery, will seek to match Sushil Kumar’s feat of winning three golds on the trot and redeem some pride after her forgettable showing at the Olympics.
Bajrang, who won a medal in Tokyo in spite of carrying a knee injury and was injured again post Olympics, trained in the USA in the run-up to the Commonwealth Games. He is expected to showcase his aggressive game again while trying to retain his title.
A gold will complete Sakshi’s collection of Games medals and will help her make an impact after the 2016 Olympics.
Divya, too, will be interested in changing the colour of her bronze.
While Worlds silver medallist Anshu Malik (57kg) will eye her first Games medal, talented girls Pooja Gehlot (50kg) and Pooja Sihag (76kg) will hope to make their mark.
Hot favourite
Among the men, Worlds and Olympics medallist Ravi Dahiya (57kg) will be the hot favourite in his category. His friend and Worlds silver medallist Deepak Punia (86kg), who recovered from a rib injury to train in the USA, will also be a gold medal aspirant.
Naveen (74kg), Deepak (97kg) and Mohit Grewal (125kg) will be no pushovers.
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