Bajrang Punia gave India its first gold medal as he registered a fabulous victory over Seungchul Lee of Korea in men’s 65kg freestyle in the Asian Wrestling Championship on Saturday.
After registering a 6-2 win, Bajrang celebrated by taking flagging the tri-colour on his shoulders.
The 23-year-old Indian wrestler conceded two points in the opening half to lag behind 0-2 at the break. However, he came back in the second half, not allowing his rival to score any more than him.
He first took a point and then took his rival down for two more to lead 3-2. From there on, Bajrang displayed a tough game and did not let his rival come back into the contest. He added three more points to his credit later.
“My strength is my stamina and I played accordingly. I was told by my coaches and mentor to attack more and I followed the strategies well to come out as a winner,” said Bajrang after the win.
“A gold is a gold and it cannot be compared to either silver or bronze. This is my first gold medal in a major international tournament and very happy to have achieved it,” he added.
London Olympics bronze medallist Yogeshwar Dutt was present to witness the tough game.
“I asked him (Bajrang) to attack all the time and not to be defensive and that paid dividends. Winning a gold medal in the Asian Championship is a really big thing,” Dutt said.
