Paris Olympics 2024: Bajrang Punia, Ravi Dahiya eliminated from qualification race
livemint.comPTI. Punia suffered a crushing 1-9 defeat in the men's freestyle 65kg semifinal against Rohit Kumar. The following defeat was after he barely managed to win against Ravinder (3-3 on criteria) in the opening round.
Punia would have been eliminated in the opening bout itself if Ravinder had not conceded a caution point in the bout. For the trials, Punia had trained in Russia, which is being organized by the IOA ad-hoc panel. ALSO READ: Rahul Gandhi visits akhara in Haryana, interacts with wrestler Bajrang Poonia, others.
Watch He won a case in the Delhi High Court after contending that the suspended Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) had no authority to conduct trials. After being eliminated, Punia left the Sports Authority of India (SAI) Centre in Haryana's Sonipat. Though the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) officials tried to collect a sample for a dope test from Punia he did not stay back even for the third-fourth place bout.
Earlier, Punia was a prominent face of protest against former WFI President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. Now Sujeet Kalakal will strive to earn qualification in the 65kg for the Paris Games after winning a spot in the Indian team. Sujeet had lost a legal case against Punia when he had challenged his direct entry for the Hangzhou Asian Games.
Sujeet beat Rohit by technical superiority in the final. Rohit will now represent India at the Asian Championships. The winners at the trials will get the opportunity to compete at the Asian and World Olympic Qualifiers to be held in Bishkek from April 19-21 and in Istanbul from May 9-12.
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