Bajrang Punia produced a signature late comeback to win gold medal on his return to international competition in the men’s freestyle 65kg f...
Bajrang Punia produced a signature late comeback to win gold medal on his return to international competition in the men’s freestyle 65kg final event the Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series event in Rome on Sunday.
Punia was trailing by two points against Mongolia’s Tulga Tumur Ochir with barely 30 seconds left on the clock. But in a scramble between the two wrestlers, the Indian star was awarded two points for a go-behind that was enough for a win on criteria with points tied at the end.
A passivity point was awarded against Punia in the final minute of the first period. With time running out, Punia was awarded a point with 90 seconds remaining in the final when Ochir was taken out of bounds. It was challenged by the Mongolian camp and the point was overturned to put the 27-year-old on the backfoot. But a calm Punia collected the points just in time to clinch gold.
With the win, Bajrang Punia successfully defended his title at Rome.
#WrestleRome 65kg FS Medal Match Results:
— United World Wrestling (@wrestling) March 7, 2021
🥇Bajrang BAJRANG 🇮🇳 df. Tulga TUMUR OCHIR 🇲🇳, 2-2
🥉Joseph MC KENNA 🇺🇸 df. Selim KOZAN 🇹🇷, 8-2
🥉Hamza ALACA 🇹🇷df. Rohit ROHIT 🇮🇳, 12-10
Earlier in the day, Punia beat Joseph McKenna (USA)...
