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Aman Sehrawat met the high expectations by securing the Paris Olympics quota in the men's freestyle 57kg category, while Deepak Punia was knocked out of the qualification after a devastating first-round loss at the World Qualifiers on Saturday, May 11. As the U23 world champion and senior Asian Championship title holder, Aman was anticipated to deliver a strong performance, and he certainly delivered.
The 20-year-old, who trains at Chhatrasal Stadium, scored in double digits in all three of his matches, winning two by technical superiority.
Aman became the first Indian male wrestler to qualify for the Paris Games, preventing a potential disappointment of no men's section qualification.
Ravi Dahiya, a silver medallist at the Tokyo Olympics, also competes in the 57kg category, and Aman might have to face him in trials held by the Wrestling Federation of India to finalize his spot for Paris.
Also showcasing notable performance was Sujeet Kalkal, who, despite a strong effort, fell 1-6 to Mongolia's Tulga Tumur-Ochir, the Asian Games champion and Asian Championship silver medallist, in the men's 65kg semifinal.
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Before his defeat, Sujeet, competing in a weight class previously dominated by the renowned Bajrang Punia, expectedly showcased his fighting spirit. He secured a narrow 3-2 victory over Uzbekistan's Umidjon Jalolov, followed by a win through technical superiority against Korea's Junsik Yun.
He now needs two more victories on Sunday to secure a spot in the Paris Games.
Aman scored comfortably in his matches, defeating Georgi Valentinov Vangelov 10-4 and then overpowering Ukraine's Andrii Yatsenko. Despite Yatsenko's speed, Aman was too robust, frequently trapping him in arm-locks and skillfully attacking his right leg to execute takedown moves. He clinched the win by technical superiority, not yielding a single point to the Ukrainian.
In a crucial match against North Korea's Chongsong Han, Aman exhibited exceptional defense and counter-attacking abilities, winning decisively with a 12-2 score. The first period was tight, with Aman leading 3-2. He then extended his advantage in the second period, escaping a precarious hold on his left leg by Han and pushing his opponent out to lead 4-2. Aman completed the bout with a takedown and three successive rolls in a leg-lace move.
Punia (86kg), who narrowly missed a bronze medal at the Tokyo Games, faced a formidable opponent in China's Zushen Lin in his first match, ultimately losing 4-6 despite an early lead.
Punia, the most seasoned wrestler of the Indian team, began aggressively, securing a 3-0 lead by the end of the first period.
However, Lin turned the tide against Punia, starting with a double-leg attack that he converted into a two-point takedown. He then rolled Punia to lead 4-3. As time dwindled, Punia intensified his efforts, attempting a two-pointer at the edge of the mat, but only managed a push-out point from the referee. Still trailing on criteria, his hopes were dashed with another takedown by Lin.
Lin's subsequent loss in the quarterfinals shut down the repechage path for Punia. In the 74kg category, Jaideep Ahlawat executed a dramatic four-point double-leg attack after being down 1-3, ultimately defeating Moldova's Vasile Diacon 5-3 to advance to the pre-quarterfinals.
Ahlawat then achieved a victory by technical superiority over Austria's Simon Marchl, but faced a 0-3 defeat in the quarterfinals against Slovakia's Taimuraz Salkazanov. However, Ahlawat still has a chance to compete through repechage, contingent on Salkazanov reaching the final. Earlier, Deepak (97kg) and the experienced Sumit Malik (125kg) were both ousted in their initial matches.
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