Bajrang Punia gratified for wishes on Bronze at Tokyo Olympic, eyes Gold at Paris 2024
Bajrang Punia clinched Bronze for the country at the ongoing 2020 Tokyo Olympics. While expressing his gratitude, he said he aims for Gold at the Paris Games.
- SportFit
- 2 min read
Indian wrestler Bajrang Punia clinched Bronze for the country in Men's Freestyle 65kg at the ongoing 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Bajrang Punia defeated Kazakhstan's Daulet Niyazbekov by 8-0 in the bronze medal match. With this win, he became the sixth ever Indian wrestler to receive an Olympic medal. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Ram Nath Kovind on Saturday, August 7, congratulated the wrestler for his achievement.
Punia hopeful of gold at the Paris 2024 Games
In a statement by ANI, Punia thanked everyone for bestowing their love and support. He said, "I want to thank everyone for their prayer, love & support as I could win a medal in Olympics. I'll thank the wrestling federation & supporting staff."
Punia also mentioned that he was disappointed that he couldn't win the gold medal in this bout. However, he promised that he would strive to win it in Paris Olympics, which is scheduled to be held in 2024.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Ram Nath Kovind also congratulated Punia in clinching the bronze medal on Saturday. Along with the two most notable people, Anurag Thakur also posted a video of Punia's performance as he held right onto his seat while the wrestler took down Kazakhstan's Niyazbekov to make India proud. Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar too congratulated Ponia for his victory and ensured cash awards upon the player's arrival.
Punia's bronze bout stats
Bajrang Punia dominated right from the time when the whistle went off. Punia brought his A-game and got an early lead of two points in period 1 over Kazakhstan's Daulet Niyazbekov. Ultimately, Punia stretched his lead to 8 and did not concede even a single point to Kazakhstan's Daulet Niyazbekov. With this win, Bajrang Punia on Friday ensured India its 6th medal at the Tokyo Olympics as he stood victorious by 8-0 in the men's 65kg freestyle bout. With this, Bajrang Punia became the second wrestler to reach the podium at the Tokyo Olympics. Before Punia, wrestler Ravi Dahiya settled for a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics when he was defeated by two-time wrestling world champion Zavur Uguev from the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) by 7-4 in the final of 57kg freestyle category.
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