Tokyo Olympics 2020: Meet Haji Aliyevh, Bajrang Punia's opponent in Men's 65kg semifinal

Bajrang Punia has made it to the Semi-finals of the Tokyo Olympics 65Kg category as he defeated Ghiasi Cheka of Iran. In the Quarter-final, Punja began both bouts with a defensive approach and had to produce a turnover in both bouts to win confirm his position in the final four. Punja will not lock horns against Haji Aliyev of Azerbaijan for a berth in the gold medal match.

Haji Aliyev is a three-time world championship gold medallist. This will be Punja’s toughest game yet and will have to bet on his recent form. Aliyev last won the world championship gold in 2017, when Punja finished 13th. Back in 2019, Punja won the silver medal while Aliyev had finished 12th. Bajrang Punia is making his Olympics debut and was seeded second in the men’s 65kg freestyle wrestling. He is considered a medal favourite for India and will have two attempts at securing either of the three medals. Punia is a two-time Asian champion and has won silver at the World Championships.

Bajrang Punia vs Haji Aliyev in Semifinals:

Punja will be facing Azerbaijan’s Haji Aliyev, who won the bronze medal at the Rio Games 2016 in the 57kg category and is a three-time world champion in the 61kg category. Haji is one of the most celebrated athletes from Azerbaijan. At the 2019 World Championship, he lost to Gazdhimurad Rashidov of Russia in the first round and then lost to Japanese wrestler Takuto Otoguro. These results almost cost him the chance of qualifying for the Olympics but he finished in the top two in the European qualifier. This confirmed his place at the Tokyo Olympics.

Aliyev became the world champion in 2014, 2015, and 2017. At the Rio Games, he lost to the Georgian wrestler Vladimir Khinchegashvili in the quarterfinals but later won against Khazaghastan’s Nurislam Sanayev before pinning Vladimir Dubov of Bulgaria to win the bronze medal. Punia entered the last eight after a difficult victory as he narrowly escaped an embarrassing defeat. He was tied with Akmataliev at 3-3 but the referees declared Punia the winner because he made the highest scoring move.