Follow us

Wrestling World Championships | Deepak Punia suffers injury ahead of final; settles for silver

no image
no image

Deepak Punia’s World Wrestling Championship campaign came to a premature end after he was forced to withdraw from the title clash due to an ankle injury he sustained in the previous match. The wrestler admitted that he wanted to win the gold for his country but he is too injured to compete.

In a heartbreaking revelation, Deepak Punia has had to retract his name from the World Wrestling Championships final in the 86 kg category hours before the match was scheduled to take place.  He was supposed to go head to head against Iran’s Hassan Yazdani in an attempt to become only the second Indian to win gold in the prestigious tournament but a last-moment injury has put a halt to his dreams. The 20-year-old has no other choice but to settle for the silver

“I had an assessment in the morning and the physio said the ankle is very injured so I have decided to pull out of the final,” Punia told Scroll.in on Sunday.

He had pulled off a comeback victory in the last minute against Switzerland’s Stefan Reichmuth in the penultimate round, having triumphed over Turkmenistan's Kodirov and Kazakhstan's Adilet Davlumbayev previously. He twisted his ankle during a scramble with the opponent, while his right eye is also swollen such that it can barely be conceived as open.

“My ankle cannot take the load and it’s difficult to even stand. So wrestling will be very difficult. It was a big chance for me in the world final but it’s really difficult for me now,” he added.

The reigning junior world champion was making his debut in the mega event and has already qualified for the Olympics on the virtue of reaching the title round.

Comments

Leave a comment

0 Comments

read previousBajrang Punia may not participate in Asian Games
Olympic bronze medalist Bajrang Punia said on Thursday that if all the panchayats who supported him during the protest at Jantar Mantar requested him to, he could pull out of the Asian Games. Several khap panchayats had come out in support of Bajrang and his fellow wrestlers during their protest.
World Wrestling Championships | Semi-final win secures Olympic berth for Deepak Puniaread next
Deepak Punia on Saturday pulled off a last gasp comeback win over his Colombian opponent to advance to the final in his debut at the prestigious tournament while also ensuring his place at the Tokyo Olympics. As for the other wrestlers, the Indians had a mixed day at the office in Kazakhstan.
View non-AMP page