Updated August 5th, 2021 at 07:47 IST
Tokyo Olympics: Sehwag slams Nurislam Sanayev's 'disgraceful' act in semis Vs Ravi Kumar
Virender Sehwag slammed Nurislam Sanayev's 'disgraceful' act during his men's freestyle 57kg semi-final bout against Ravi Kumar Dahiya on Wednesday
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Former Team India vice-captain Virender Sehwag expressed disappointment as Ravi Kumar Dahiya's opponent Nurislam Sanayev of Kazakhstan allegedly resorted to unfair means during their Tokyo Olympics 2020 men's freestyle 57kg semi-final bout on Wednesday.
Even though Ravi Kumar Dahiya won the contest and successfully found a place in the gold medal match, he endured a painful bite on his biceps from which he overcame. This act from Dahiya's Kazhakstani rival did not go down well with Sehwag.
Tokyo Olympics: Virender Sehwag slams Nurislam Sanayev for resorting to unfair means
Taking to the micro-blogging site, Virender Sehwag had posted a few stills from the wrestling semi-final match between Ravi Kumar Dahiya and Nurislam Sanayev where the latter could be clearly seen biting his competitor from Sonipat.
Not only did Sehwag term this as 'unfair' and then wrote that the only reason why Nurislam bit Vijay Kumar's hand (biceps) was because he just could not hit Dahiya's spirit. The cricketer-turned-cricket pundit then went on to term this act as 'Disgraceful' as well.
How unfair is this , couldn’t hit our #RaviDahiya ‘s spirit, so bit his hand. Disgraceful Kazakh looser Nurislam Sanayev.
— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) August 4, 2021
Ghazab Ravi , bahut seena chaunda kiya aapne #Wrestling pic.twitter.com/KAVn1Akj7F
Even the netizens were on the same page with the 2011 World Cup winner. Here's what they had to say.
Such players should be banned immediately. This is so unfair and in fact cheap ethics. Olympic committee should definitely look into this and take necessary action. We have already seen injustice in Mary Kom game. Not everything should be tolerated.
— Harsha (@R_H_A_R) August 4, 2021
has the Kazakh been disqualified from competing in his bronze medal match ? if not shame on the Olympic fair play committee
— Akhil Puri (@magicspore) August 4, 2021
Nurislam sanayev..also cheated his way through quaters against the Japanese wrestler.. Disgraceful that such athletes are allowed perform at such high levels.
— Vignesh Krishnan (@vignesh_cs) August 4, 2021
Great that Ravi didn't even complain and went on to win the game..
Had some respect for that KAZ wrestler on winning his previous match while his head was bleeding..
— Subramani Ssm (@AravindAK57) August 4, 2021
Never thought he would have done such an ugly act.
Totally disgusting. It's not a normal thing. Player should always remember that your country's name is also goona be spoiled. This is completely against the game's spirit. It shows u don't have the courage to accept defeat. No matter how low you can go for win. @nurislamsanayev
— Shubham Rajput (@l_am_shubham) August 4, 2021
Tokyo Olympics: Can Vijay Kumar Dahiya clinch the elusive gold medal?
Coming back to the bout, the contest started in a cagey fashion with both wrestlers registering points in the initial minutes of the first round. But Sanayev almost won the match as he registered 8 points in a row by turning the Indian wrestler around by holding his legs. But Ravi Kumar staged a grand comeback as he first reduced the deficit to 5-9 and then turned the match around by pinning Sanayev to pick up 5 points in a row. The Indian wrestler won the bout with just over 30 seconds remaining.
Ravi Kumar registered a win via pinfall. He will now be up against ROC's Zaur Uguev on Thursday and would be hoping to clinch the gold for India. Meanwhile, Dahiya has also assured India of a fourth Olympic medal in this edition after the likes of Mirabai Chanu (silver), PV Sindhu (bronze), and, Lovlina Borgohain (bronze) respectively.
Meanwhile, the long wait for a gold medal continues as the Indian contingent looks to end a 13-year-drought by winning the biggest prize of the quadrennial event. The last time a gold medal came home was during the 2008 edition in Beijing where shooter Abhinav Bindra won the prized medal in the 10-meter air rifle event.
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Published August 5th, 2021 at 07:47 IST
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