Indian wrestler Deepak Punia’s hopes of qualifying for the Paris Olympics Games were dashed after a devastating defeat against China's Zushen Lin in the opening round of the World Olympic Qualifiers on Apirl 11. However, young wrestlers Aman Sehrawat and Sujeet Kalkal moved closer to securing berths by advancing to the semifinals at the World Qualifiers. No Indian male wrestler has qualified yet for the Olympic games and this is the last opportunity to secure birth.
Aman Sehrawat to face North Korea’s Chongsong Han
Aman, the reigning U23 world champion and senior Asian Championship titleholder, lived up to expectations with commanding performances in both his matches. He secured a 10-4 victory over Georgi Valentinov Vangelov and dominated Ukraine's Andrii Yatsenko, winning by technical superiority without conceding a single point. Notably, Aman Sehrawat will next face North Korea’s Chongsong Han.
Sujeet Kalkal advances to the quarterfinals
In the 86kg category, Punia, who narrowly missed out on a bronze medal at the Tokyo Games, faced a formidable opponent in Zushen Lin from China. Despite initially taking the lead, Punia succumbed to a 4-6 defeat. Meanwhile, Sujeet showcased his prowess with a hard-fought 3-2 win over Uzbekistan's Umidjon Jalolov and a technical superiority victory against Korea's Junsik Yun. Now, Sujeet will be in action in his next match against Mongolia's Tulga Tumur-Ochir, a formidable opponent.
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Jaideep Ahlawat storms into the pre-quarterfinals
Jaideep Ahlawat displayed resilience in the 74kg weight class and executed a stunning four-pointer double-leg attack to secure a 5-3 victory over Moldova’s Vasile Diacon. Meanwhile, he progressed to the pre-quarterfinal with a technical superiority win over Austria's Simon Marchl but lost his quarterfinal 0-3 to Slovakia's Taimuraz Salkazanov. However, Jaideep remains in contention, with a chance to advance via the repechage route if the Slovakian reaches the final.
Earlier in the day, Deepak (97kg) and Sumit Malik (125kg) suffered defeats in their respective first-round bouts.
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