Ace grappler Bajrang Punia became the only Indian to claim four medals at the World Wrestling Championships (WWC) 2022 by clinching a bronze in the current edition at Belgrade, Serbia.
Bajrang, who won a bronze in last year’s Tokyo Olympics, eked out a close 11-9 win on points over Sebastian C Rivera of Puerto Rico in one of the bronze medal bouts in the 65kg category.
Bajrang, who lost to John Michael Diakomihalis of USA in the quarterfinals, qualified for the bronze medal contest through repechage round where he defeated Vazgen Tevanyan of Armenia 7-6 by points.
It is Bajrang’s third bronze at the worlds. The celebrated Indian wrestler had earlier won a bronze in 2013, silver in 2018 and bronze in 2019.
4️⃣th Worlds medal for @BajrangPunia 🤼♂️
Our Tokyo Olympics BRONZE medalist has bagged a BRONZE🥉 again. This time at the Wrestling World Championships (FS 65kg) in Belgrade🤩
His World Championships CV now:
SILVER – 2018
BRONZE – 2013, 2019, 2022#WrestleBelgrade pic.twitter.com/vF1kOEEflL— SAI Media (@Media_SAI) September 18, 2022
India had fielded a 30-member team for the ongoing World Championships but produced a below-par performance, securing just two medals.
Tokyo Olympics silver medallist Ravi Kumar Dahiya had crashed out early and failed to secure a podium finish.
Besides Bajrang, Vinesh Phogat won her second World Championship bronze medal in the women’s 53kg category.
