The former opening batsman of India, Virender Sehwag congratulated Bajrang Punia on getting gold in 65 kg category.
After getting an early jolt from the wrestler, Sushil Kumar, Bajrang Punia gave a reason to his countrymen to smile. He opened up the account of India in Asian Games 2018.
Bajrang won his maiden gold medal in the 65 kg category by beating Japanese Daichi Takatani 11-8 in the final.
Earlier, Sushil Sharma failed to add another gold to his collection of medals when he qualification bout 3-5 to Bahrain’s Adam Batirov in the 74kg category.
Photo Credit: Web.
Bajrang displayed a similar show in the previous tournaments in which he participated. He won the final in Commonwealth Games, Tbilisi Grand Prix, and Yasar Dogu International and thus continued the similar approach in Asian Games 2018.
Image source: Twitter
With the help of his excellent technique, the 24-year old from Haryana won all the bouts till the procession of the finale consequently.
He defeated Sirojiddin Khasanov (13-3) of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan’s Fayziev Abdulqosim (12-2) and N Batmagnai Batchuluu (10-0) from Mongolia and as a result stormed into the gold medal bout.
In an exciting battle, Bajrang met Takatani Daichi of Japan in the finals. He held his nerve and as a result won the finale by 11-8.
Bajrang got an opening lead of 6-0, but Daichi made a superb comeback. He kept the immense pressure on Bajrang who had the last laugh subsequently.
Bajrang Punia joins the Elite Club
He joined the Elite List of gold winners in Asian Games. The medal winners include – Kartar (1978, 1986), Satpal Singh (1982), Rajinder Singh (1978), Changdi Ram (1970) and Maruti Mane (1962).
After winning the gold medal, Bajrang gave credits to his mentor, Yogeshwar Dutt who won the gold in the last edition consequently.
Here is the link to the tweet of Virender Sehwag:
Wah ! @BajrangPunia . So proud of you for making us proud. Congratulations for the Gold and for fulfilling your promise of winning one. Shaabash ! #AsianGame2018 pic.twitter.com/RjxFhwqUCj
— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) August 19, 2018
