Tokyo, Aug 6 (Representative) India’s Bajrang Punia lost 12-5 to Azerbaijan’s Haji Aliyev in the men’s freestyle 65kg wrestling semifinal match at the ongoing 2020 Tokyo Olympics, here on Friday. The loss means Bajrang will be competing for the bronze medal on Saturday. He will face the winner of the repechage round bout between Senegal’s Adama Diatta and Kazakhstan’s Daulet Niyazbekov.
If he manages to win, it would be India’s second medal in wrestling in Tokyo, with Ravi Kumar Dahiya winning a silver medal in the 57kg category on Thursday. The 27-year old Bajrang is a three-time world championships medallist. He won a bronze in the 2019 World Championships and had won a silver in 2018, both in the 65kg category.