Commonwealth Games 2018: India's Bajrang Punia wins gold medal; Mausam Khatri, Pooja Dhanda settle for silver in wrestling

Wrestler Bajrang Punia defeats Wales Kane Charig by 10 points to win the gold medal in the Men's Freestyle 65kg event.

Edited by: India TV Sports Desk, New Delhi [ Updated: April 13, 2018 14:49 IST ]

The 24-year-old from Haryana dominated the proceedings against Wales' Kane Charig to register an emphatic 10-0 win to claim India's 16th gold medal.

Photo:PTI

Indian wrestler Bajrang Punia won gold in the men's freestyle 65-kilogram category at the 21st Commonwealth Games (CWG) on Friday at Gold Coast, Australia. Bajrang needed only around two minutes to overpower Kane Charig of Wales by technical superiority as he won by 10 straight points. The Indian wrestler didn't break a sweat during the clash against Wales.

The 24-year-old from Haryana dominated the proceedings against Wales' Kane Charig to register an emphatic 10-0 win to claim India's 16th gold medal on the eighth day of the Games at the Carrara Sports Arena.

Bajrang, who won a silver in Glasgow four years ago, was awarded the victory by technical superiority as he didn't give an inch to his opponent.

In fact, such was his dominance that Bajrang won all his bouts today on Technical Superiority as none of his rivals could pose a threat to him.

He had defeated New Zealand's Brahm Richards in the first bout, before outwitting Nigeria's Amas Daniel in the 1/4 final. He then dumped Canada's Vincent De Marinis in the semifinals.

A 2013 World Championship bronze medallist, Bajrang also won gold medals in the Commonwealth Championship in 2016 and 2017 at Singapore and Brakpan, South Africa respectively.

Pooja Dhanda made a late push in the women's 57kg final bout against Nigeria's Odunayo Adekuoroye but had to be content with a silver medal, losing 5-7.

Divya Kakran won bronze medal in the women's freestyle 68 kg by outplaying Bangladesh's Sherin Sultana 4-0, a victory by fall.

India's Mausam Khatri had to settle for the silver medal in the Men's freestyle 97kg wrestling event. In a well-fought battle, the Indian did all he could but the brute power of the South Africa wrestler was too much for the Indian as he lost 2:12 in the finals of the wrestling event.