World Wrestling Championships 2022: Bajrang Punia wins bronze, first Indian to win 4 medals

Bajrang Punia won a bronze at the World Wrestling Championships 2022 by defeating Sebastian C Rivera of Puerto Rico 11-9. He has become the first Indian to win four medals at the event.

Image credit: PTI

Ace Indian wrestler Bajrang Punia has become the only Indian to win four medals at the World Wrestling Championships. He clinched a bronze in the ongoing edition of the tournament in Belgrade on Sunday. Bajrang, who also claimed a bronze in the Tokyo Olympics last year, edged out on a tight 11-9 win on points over Puerto Rico's Sebastian C Rivera in one of the 65kg category bronze medal bouts. Bajrang had lost to USA's John Michael Diakomihalis in the quarterfinals but qualified for the bronze medal contest through the repechage round, where he conquered Armenia's Vazgen Tevanyan 7-6 by points.

It is Bajrang's third bronze in the WWC. His previous medals at the same include bronze in 2013, silver in 2018 and bronze again in 2019. India had fielded a 30-member side for this WWC. However, it has achieved a below-par performance, securing just a couple of medals.

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Ravi Kumar Dahiya, the Tokyo Olympics silver medallist, crashed out prematurely, failing to confirm a podium finish. Besides Bajrang, Vinesh Phogat bested her second WWC bronze medal in the women's 53kg category. He had beaten Sweden's Emma Malmgren 8-0 for the bronze.

(With inputs from PTI)