File photo of Bajrang Punia.
Following Vinesh Phogat's triumph, men's wrestling star Bajrang Punia sealed gold medal at the Matteo Pellicone in Rome, defeating Mongolia's Tulga Tumur Ochir 2-2 by criteria in the final of the 65kg freestyle event. The victory came harder than anticipated for the 27-year-old grappler, who rallied to win after getting a 2-pointed in the last 30 seconds of the bout.
This is Bajrang's second consecutive gold at the Matteo Pellicone ranking series event in Rome as he won the title last year as well after beating USA's Jordan Oliver.
The Haryanana wrestler had defeated Joseph Christopher of the USA in the semi-final with a 6-3 margin while his quarterfinal victim was Turkey’s Selim Kozan whom he defeated 7-0.
Meanwhile, Rohit missed out on a bronze medal in the same category after losing out in the medal bout to Turkey's Hamza Alaca 10-12. Rohit earlier lost in the semi-final to Ochier, therefore missing out on a chance of all-India final with Bajrang.
In the 74 kg, national champion Sandeep Singh of Punjab lost his qualification bout to Franklin Gomez Matos of Portugal.
However, Narsingh Yadav showed grit and determination to stay in the race for a podium finish. He will face Asian gold medallist Daniyar Kaisanov of Kazakhstan.
Earlier, in the semi-finals, Yadav lost to Olympic champion Jordan Burroughs of the USA 1-4. Burroughs will face Italy’s Frank Chamizo Marquez in the final.
