Wrestler Sumit Malik qualifies for Olympics; Dhankar, Kadian ousted
Sumit Malik on Thursday became the fourth Indian men's freestyle wrestler to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics when he reached the 125 kg summit clash at the World Olympic Qualifiers, in Sofia, Bulgaria. Sumit joined Ravi Dahiya (57 kg), Bajrang Punia (65 kg), and Deepak Punia (86 kg) in India's men's freestyle squad bound for the Tokyo Olympics. Here are more details.
Malik won against Venezuela's Jose Robertti in the semi-final
Malik won the all-crucial semi-final, against Venezuela's Jose Daniel Diaz Robertti 5-0. However, Amit Dhankar (74 kg) and Satywart Kadian (97 kg) failed to earn a quota after losing at different stages of the competition.
Malik won against Kyrgyzstan's Lazare in 125 kg qualification bout
In his 125 kg qualification bout against Kyrgyzstan's Aiaal Lazarev, Malik was trailing by 1-2 till the last 25 seconds but got a push-out point toward the end and won on criteria, when the scores were tied 2-2. His next bout was against Moldova's Alexandr Romanov. He trailed 0-1 after losing a point on passivity.
Malik won the second period of qualification bout against Romanov
In the second period of the qualification bout, Malik lost another point when he was pushed out by his opponent but he pulled off a two-point throw to make it even and finally won 3-2.
Dhankar lost his qualification bout against Moldova's Sava
In the quarterfinal against Tajikistan's Rustam Iskandar, Malik was in trouble at one stage as he trailed 2-4 after leading 2-0 but logged four two-pointers to win easily. On the other hand, Dhankar lost his qualification bout 6-9 to Moldova's Mihail Sava. After trailing 0-4, Dhankar put up a spirited fight in the second period, but the Moldovan was up to the task.
Kadian won the pre-quarterfinal against Puerto Rico's Ramos
Dhankar's defeat means that India will go unrepresented in the 74 kg at the Tokyo Games. Kadian won his pre-quarterfinal 5-2 against Evan Amadour Ramos from Puerto Rico. He led 3-0 in the first period, but a take-down move by his rival threatened his chances before the Indian got another two-pointer to win easily.
Kadian lost against Bulgaria's Bataev in the quarterfinal
In the quarterfinal against Bulgaria's Ahmed Sultanovich Bataev, Kadian blew away a 5-1 lead to go out of the competition as he lost the bout on criteria, conceding four points in the last 20 seconds.
Tokyo Olympics to begin on July 23
Kadian trailed after the first period, losing the point on passivity. In the second period, he scored five points in a row, starting with a passivity point, and followed that up with two push-outs and a two-point throw. However, the Bulgarian turned the tide in his favor. Notably, the Tokyo Olympics is scheduled to begin on July 23 this year.
