Tokyo 2020 Wrestling: Know David Morris Taylor III - Deepak Punia's semifinal opponent

Tokyo Olympics: Deepak Punia's opponent David Morris Taylor III beat Myles Nazem Amine and Ali Shabanau en route to the semifinal.

David Morris Taylor III of the United States celebrates defeating Myles Nazem Amine during the men's freestyle 86kg quarterfinal at Tokyo 2020.

World No. 2 Deepak Punia takes on David Morris Taylor III of the United States of America in the 86kg category semifinal at Tokyo 2020. The match is scheduled to begin later on Wednesday and will assure the winner a medal in the quadrennial showpiece.

Road to semifinal

Deepak beat Nigeria's Ekerekeme Agiomor (12-1) and China's Lin Zushen (6-3).

David downed Ali Shabanau of Belarus and San Marino's Myles Nazem Amine.

Who is David Morris Taylor III?

Nicknamed the Magic Man, David is coached by former Olympian Casey Cunningham, who also happens to be his mentor at the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club. The 30-year-old, who began wrestling at the age of five, idolises US legend Cael Sanderson and dreams of gold at the 2020 Games.

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A formidable opponent, David once told  m2wrestling.com , "My motivation is just to go out and dominate someone. That's what I train my whole life to do."

While representing The Pennsylvania State University, David was awarded the 2012 and 2014 Dan Hodge Trophy, given to the top college wrestler of the year in the US. He was also named 2011, 2012 and 2014 Big Ten Conference Wrestler of the Year.

David has an enviable trophy cabinet with gold medals at the 2018 World Championships, Pan American Championships (2018, 2019, 2021), and the 2018 World Cup.