Bajrang Punia grabs bronze, Aman strikes gold

Almaty, June 5

Bajrang Punia claimed a bronze medal even as Aman won his first gold medal at the senior level with a commanding show in the 57kg competition at the Bolat Turlykhanov Cup here today.

Bajrang struggled in his opening bout of the 65kg category, losing 3-5 to Uzbekistan’s Abbos Rakhmonov.

Rakhmonov reached the final, giving the 28-year-old Indian the opportunity to fight for a bronze. In the bronze medal playoff, Bajrang beat Kazkahstan’s Rifat Saibotalov 7-0.

Aman, who trains with Tokyo Olympics silver medallist Ravi Dahiya, began with a 15-12 win over Meirambek Kartbay. He followed that up with a win by technical superiority over Abdymalik Karachov. In the final, he edged out Kazakhstan’s Merey Bazarbayev 10-9 to stay unbeaten in the five-wrestler category to claim gold. It was Aman’s third medal this season, having won a silver and bronze each.