Punia settles for silver vs spirited Japanese teen
NEW DELHI: Bajrang Punia played his heart out but lost the title clash against Japanese Takuto Otoguro to settle for silver at the Wrestling World Championships in Budapest on Monday.
In a high scoring edge-of-theseat 65kg freestyle final, Bajrang and Takuto launched attack after attack but the teenaged Japanese played his cards smartly to win 16-9, after leading 7-6 midway.
Bajrang, however, is the only Indian to win two World Championship medals. His first, a bronze, came in 2013 at the same place. Sushil Kumar is the only Indian to have won a World Championship gold, in 2010.
Takuto, just 19, became Japan’s youngest world champion. The earlier record was held by Olympic gold medallist and four-time world champion Yuji Takada, who won the 52-kg world title at age 20 in 1974.
The score might not suggest how close the contest was as Bajrang, 24, fought doggedly against Takuto, whose swift leg-attacks right from the start were clearly the clincher. The Japanese belied his age with sharp tactics and a dose of gamesmanship as well.
Takuto took the Indian by surprise with his aggressive intent as he raced to a 5-0 lead. Bajrang was completely at sea against Takuto’s fast moves. An animated India coach Shako Benitidis could be heard screaming from the sidelines: “Do your wrestling Baji, control and attack.”
The Indian, who had not lost a match this season and had won gold at the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games, gathered himself and bounced back with a take-down, winning the next four points. Thereafter, it was a quality battle which swung from one end to another.
Bajrang seemed to have the momentum in the final seconds of the first period. He continued in same vein and it was the Japanese who looked in trouble. A counter-attack saw Bajrang push him out of the mat, but with the score at 9-6, the Japanese called for medical attention pointing to his legs. Bajrang was clearly unhappy with what he felt was gamesmanship and gestured to the referee. However, the Japanese regained his composure and came back stronger, turning the tables on the Indian.
In other bouts, Pankaj Rana (70 kg) lost in the second round and Mausam Khatri (97 kg) was out in the first round. In women’s freestyle, Seema (55kg) lost in the second-round while Sarita (59kg) lost in the quarter-finals.