CWG 2018 | Mausam Khatri wins silver in men's 97 kg freestyle
In the men’s category of 97 kg, Mausam Khatri reached the final but had to settle for the silver medal he was completely outplayed by South Africa's Martin Erasmus in the 2018 Commonwealth Games. It was India’s 10th silver medal in this Commonwealth Games and 39th medal overall.
Indian wrestlers started the wrestling competition on a positive note on day one where Sushil Kumar, Rahul Aware, and Babita Phogat won medals in their respective competitions. Sushil Kumar and Rahul Aware won the gold medal while Babita Phogat won the silver.
Battling against South Africa's Martin Erasmus in the final, Mausam Khatri started well. He won the first point in the gold medal match but the South African Erasmus came back strongly and was very quick on his feet. Erasmus counter-attacked superbly and took the lead 4-1. He then bagged another couple of points as he took a 5-point lead with a little more than one minute to go.
Erasmus once again displayed his speed and agility as he proved to be too quick for the 30-year-old Khatri. Hence, with a few seconds to go in the first round, Erasmus took a 12-2 lead and sealed the game. He won the game by Technical Superiority and hence won the gold.
Khatri had to settle for the silver as Erasmus was too good on the day.
