NEW DELHI: Sachin Rathi scripted a sensational turn around in the final bout while Deepak Puniya asserted his supremacy without fuss as India won two gold and as many bronze medals in the freestyle competition on the concluding day of the Junior Asian Wrestling Championship, here on Sunday.
On the last day of the championship, four of the five Indian wrestlers reached the medal round with Suraj Rajkumar Kokate (61kg) and Mohit (125kg) winning bronze medals. The only one to miss out was Somveer Singh in the 92kg category. India, with 173 points, finished second in the team championship behind Iran (189 points). Uzbekistan finished third with 128 points. Rathi won the first gold of the day for India in the 74kg with a sensational turn around against Mongolia’s Bat-Erdene Byambasuren in the gold medal match. Rathi trailed 2-5 after the first period and then lagged behind 2-9 in the second but from there he turned the bout on its head and pinned his opponent to claim the gold. “I knew I could win. My coach told me that I have to fight every second.
I had the confidence to win gold despite trailing. I just did not give up. It was more of a mental challenge after conceding such lead,” he said. India junior coach Maha Singh Rao said, “I had advised him to not let the Mongolian fight from a distance. From there he was very attacking. I expected gold from him. He had it in him.” In-form Deepak Punia then expectedly won the gold comfortably in the 86kg category. In the gold medal bout he fought with Turkmenistan’s Azat Gajyyev and won on technical superiority. (PTI)
