Ravi Kumar Dahiya And Deepak Punia
Ravi Kumar Dahiya already confirmed silver on 3rd August and couldn’t win a Gold for India. Playing only in his first-ever Olympics the young lad from Sonipat fought hard but Zaur Uguev was better between the two. The final score was 7-4 and Ravi Dahiya was in tears after losing the bout. This shows the character of the man who was not happy with Silver. He will have to try even harder as Paris Olympics is just 3 years from now.
Next year, Asian Games and Asian Championships in 2023 will be his best chance to prove himself. Deepak Punia was the favorite between the two but just couldn’t hold on to his lead for the last 20 seconds and that is where he lost the match. The match wasn’t an intense one as Myles Amine took the lead but as soon as Deepak got the opening, he cashed in and took the crucial two points.
He was quite good with defending as his opponent was continuously attacking him. One-point lead in wrestling is nothing and this match proved that. Myles Amine of San Marino took the crucial 2 points when it mattered the most. India’s hope of equaling London’s medal tally couldn’t be fulfilled today. India won two medals on the 12th day of the Olympics and two challenges are still remaining for Indians in wrestling. If we could hang on to one, we will still equal London’s medal tally which had 2 silver and 4 bronze medalists for India.
Apart from wrestling, Neeraj Chopra is in the finals of Javelin’s throw, women’s hockey team will play their bronze medal match tomorrow. If we get one of these, we will surpass the London medals tally and will bid adieu to Tokyo in style. PM Modi congratulated the Men’s Hockey team members and also posted the video of the call on his social media handle.
The underdog Aditi Ashok too is proving her mettle in Golf, as she is tied at the number 2 spot after the second round. If she could win a medal for India, she will definitely break the stereotype as Golf is termed as men’s sport in India and a girl winning a medal in Golf, will be a proud moment not just for her but for the entire society who think so.
Vinesh Phogat’s challenge in wrestling came to an end and this was more or less her last chance as she will be nearly 30 in the next Olympics and at that age expecting medals in wrestling is difficult. We hope, she comes back stronger and concentrates on Asian Games 2022. India has made a late surge but it seems like they have lost some momentum as our wrestlers were defeated in the last 2 bouts. Bajrang Punia will have to stamp his authority as he is one of the highest seed players in his category. All eyes would be on him as he starts his campaign on 7th August.