Asian Games 2018 | Bajrang Punia clinches maiden Asian Games gold medal
Bajrang Punia became the first Indian athlete to win gold at this year’s Asian Games when he beat Japan’s Daichi Takatani 11-8 in the final bout of the men’s 65 kg category. Punia displayed technical class in the build-up to the finals as he beat Mongolia’s Batmagnai Batchuluun 10-0 in the semis.
Bajrang Punia left for Indonesia on the back of some pretty impressive wins at this year’s 2018 Asian Wrestling Championships in Bishkek followed by a stunning gold at the 2018 Gold Coast CWG. He began his campaign in Indonesia with a bye in the first round but backed that up with three back-to-back wins by technical superiority.
India’s biggest medal hope, Bajrang, delivered on his promise as he became the first Indian athlete at this year’s Asian showpiece to bag a gold medal for India. Punia beat Japan’s Daichi Takatani 11-8 in the final bout of the men’s 65 kg category to secure gold for his country. The 24-year old raced away to a 6-0 lead before his Japanese counterpart fought back to tie the bout at 6-6. But Punia’s determination eventually paid off as he put in a great defensive show towards the end of the bout and held on to a memorable win in Jakarta.
The young lad from Haryana had initially outclassed Uzbekistan’s Sirojiddin Khasanov 13-3, as he won the bout by technical superiority. He followed that up with another classy show in the quarter-final as he overcame Tajikistan’s Abdulqosim Fayziev 12-2 to storm into the last four. But his best performance came in the semi-final bout as he overpowered Mongolia’s Batmagnai Batchuluun 10-0 to win his third straight bout via technical superiority.
