Punia victory

Former World Junior Champion:  Former World Junior Champion and 2019 World Championship in senior category, Deepak Punia salvaged some pride for Indian wrestling at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou by winning a silver medal in the Men's Freestyle 86Kg wrestling here on Saturday.

Punia, who missed a bronze medal in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, fought superbly to reach the gold medal match but bowed down to Iran's Hassan Yazdanicharati, the Rio Olympic Games gold medallist who claimed a silver in Tokyo in 2021 and a three-time World Champion in the 86kg.

The Iranian defended the gold he had won in the 2018 Games in Indonesia by beating Punia Victory by technical superiority - without any point scored by the opponent, 3 minutes 31 seconds into the six-minute bout.