Indian wrestler Deepak Punia secures quota for 2020 Tokyo Olympics

Mangalore Today News Network

Kazhakstan, Sep 21, 2019: India wrestler Deepak Punia on Sunday became the fourth athele from the country to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after booking his place in the semi-finals of the ongoing World Wrestling Championship at Nur Sultan, Kazhakstan on Saturday, Zee reported.

 

The junior world champion entered the last-four of the World Wrestling Championships after sweeping past Carlos Mendez of Colombia 7-6 in the quater-final bout of the men’s  86-kg freestyle category.

Punia will now lock horns with Stefan Reichmuth of Switzerland for a berth in the summit showdown of the prestigious tournament.

En route to the semi-finals, Punia had also eased past Tajikistan’s Kodirov Bakhodur 6-0 in the pre-quarterfinal bout and defeated Kazhakstan’s Adilet Davlumbayev 8-6  in the opening bout.

Earlier, Vinesh Phogat,  Ravi Kumar Dahiya and Bajrang Punia all secured their berth in the Tokyo Olympics after winning bronze medals in their respective weight categories.