Medals storming in for India! Bajrang Punia wins gold; Pooja Dhanda, Mausam Khatri bag silver

NewsBharati    13-Apr-2018
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Gold Coast, April 13: India's gold rush at the 2018 Commonwealth Games has continued with Bajrang Punia delivering a 17th yellow metal in the men's freestyle 65kg while Pooja Dhanda has won silver in the women's 57kg freestyle on day nine of competition at Gold Coast, Australia.

 

Bajrang, who won a 61kg silver four years ago at the Glasgow Games, turned in an utterly dominating performance against Kane Charig of Wales, whom he defeated 10-0 in just over two minutes.

 

Bajrang had stormed into the final of the men's freestyle 65kg event with wins over New Zealand's Brahm Richards, Nigeria's Amas Daniel and Canada's Vincent de Marinis. In the showdown with Charig, the 24-year-old wrapped up gold inside the first round.

Teenaged wrestler Divya Kakran, who claimed medals at the Asian and Commonwealth Wrestling Championships last year, has marked her first appearance at the Commonwealth Games by winning bronze in the women’s 68kg freestyle event. India's last wrestling medal contest of the day ended up in a silver medal finish after Mausam Khatri lost 2-12 to Martin Erasmus of South Africa in a one-sided contest.

 

In the other gold medal fight, Pooja won silver in the women's 57kg freestyle after losing her final match against Olympic bronze medalist and two-time World Championship medalist Odunayo Adekuoroye of Nigeria.

Pooja was at her fighting best during her bout as she had almost turned it around in the last 30 seconds. Trailing 1-6, Dhanda almost got the job done with a near pinfall but Odunayo was lucky to survive.
The 24-year-old from Gudana in Haryana's Hisar district had earlier turned down an offer to play three-time CWG medalist Babita Kumari in Hindi cinema's all-time grosser Dangal to stay focused on her wrestling career.

Entering the competition on Friday, Pooja beat Canada's Emily Schaefer, New Zealand's Ana Moceyawa and then Cameroon's Joseph Essombe Tiako in the semi-finals 11-5 before losing to two-time World Championship medalist and the defending CWG champion in the 53kg Odunayo in the final.

Pooja had sealed her passage to the CWG when she defeated Geeta Phogat during the trials for the 57kg category. Today's medal is reward for her perseverance after she underwent two surgeries for a tear to her anterior cruciate ligament during a training camp in Lucknow three years ago. During the Pro Wrestling League, Pooja had defeated Odunayo and World Championships silver medal-winner Marwa Amri.

Gold Coast Commonwealth Games Bajrang Punia Pooja Dhanda Mausam Khatri Divya Kakran