Indian wrestler Bajrang Punia came up with a terrific performance as he claimed the gold medal during the Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series held in Rome. He beat Tulga Tumur Ochir of Mongolia in the 65 kg weight category during the final on Sunday.(File photo)
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While it turned out to be a thriller, Punia was under pressure, as he was trailing 0-2. However, just 30 seconds before the final whistle, he managed to grab a couple of quick points to level the score and was declared the winner based on getting the last point.
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Technically, Punia seemingly worked upon his leg defence during the past year, as most of the tournaments were suspended due to the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic. While he was ranked second before the competition, winning this series has pushed him atop the table to number one.
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Besides Punia, there were other Indians as well who took part in the tournament. Meanwhile, there were seven Indians who bagged medals.
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Among other men, Neeraj (63 kg), Kuldeep Malik (72 kg), Naveen (130 kg) finished with bronze. While none of the men bagged silvers, Narsingh Pancham Yadav lost his bronze playoff to Daniyar Kaisanov of Kazakhstan, as the former returned to the circuit after a four-year doping ban.
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As for women, it was Vinesh Phogat (53 kg) and Sarita Mor (59 kg) who won gold and silver, respectively. The athletes would now eye to qualify for the upcoming 2020 Tokyo Olympics, as the qualifiers are set to get underway soon.
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