Deepak Punia Outplayed By idol Hasan Yazdani In Asian Games, Indian Wrestlers Return With Six Medals
Hasan Yazdani expectedly proved too good for Deepak Punia, who settled for a silver after losing by technical superiority to the Iranian legend in the men's 86kg category as India's wrestling campaign concluded at the Asian Games in Hangzhou on Saturday with six medals but without a gold.
It was the second time that Deepak found himself up against his childhood idol Yazdani, the two-time Olympic medallist and eight-time World Championship medallist.
In the 2019 World Championships in Nur Sultan, Deepak had reached the final on debut but did not wrestle against the Iranian due to a foot injury and conceded the bout, settling for a silver. (Asian Games 2023 Medals Tally | Asian Games 2023 Full Schedule) The 24-year-old Deepak, known as 'Ketli Pehalwan', was perhaps overwhelmed as he could not find a single scoring move against Yazdani, who had more or less settled the final by taking a commanding 8-0 lead in the first period.
Yazdani finished the bout early in the second period to defend his title. Meanwhile, Yash Tunir (74kg), Vicky (97kg) and Sumit Malik (125kg) crashed out of the Games without reaching the medal round.