Tokyo Olympics: Wrestler Bajrang Punia loses to Azerbaijan's Haji Aliyev in semis, will play for bronze next
Bajrang Punia
Indian wrestler Bajrang Punia lost to Azerbaijan's Haji Aliyev 5-12 in Men's 65kg Freestyle semi-final at Tokyo Olympics 2020 on Friday (August 6) at the Makuhari Messe Hall. Punia will now play for the bronze medal.
Previously, he defeated Iran's Morteza Ghiasi by fall in the quarter-finals to book a berth in the semis. Earlier in the day, he beat Kyrgyzstan's Ernazar Akmataliev in his opening bout to move to the quarterfinals.
After the match, Bajrang Punia's father, Balwan Singh said, "Winning and losing is part of life. He will definitely win the Bronze medal."
#IND @BajrangPunia goes down 5-12 to #AZE Haji Aliyev in Men's Freestyle 65kg semifinal. He will now play for the #Bronze at #Tokyo2020 tomorrow, 7 Aug.
Stay tuned for more updates on #IndiaAtOlympics. pic.twitter.com/FiLYSKSqvn — SAIMedia (@Media_SAI) August 6, 2021
In the bout against Haji Aliyev, who is the Rio 2016 bronze-medallist in 57kg and a three-time world champion in 61kg, Punia looked to go on the offence early and gaining the first point passivity penalty on Aliyev.
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However, the Azerbaijan wrestler scored back-to-back takedowns and took a 4-1 lead into the second period. Aliyev then took advantage of the opening and scored another four points after getting hold of the Indian wrestler's ankles and twirling him around a couple of times. Bajrang Punia tried to claw his way back in the bout, but Aliyev kept picking up points of his own to win the bout 12-5.