After Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia wins gold at Rome Ranking Series wrestling

Indian wrestler Bajrang Punia defeated Tulga Tumur Ochir of Mongolia to win gold in the 65 kg freestyle category at the Matteo Pelicone Rankings series in Rome. With this victory, Bajrang took revenge for his teammate Rohit’s loss against Tulga by 0-4 in the semi-final. Ochir was an Under 23 Asian Champion in 2019.

This is Bajrang’s second career victory over Tulga after the 2018 World Championship in Budapest where the Indian wrestler defeated him in the third round by 3-1. He was a runner-up in that event.

In semi-final, Bajrang defeated Joseph Christopher Me Kenna of the US by 6-3 and in the quartes he defeated Salim Kozan of Turkey by 7-0.

Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat won her second gold medal in two weeks as she defeated Canada’s Diana Weicker in the final of the Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series event in Rome, reclaiming the top rank in her category. The 26-year-old World bronze medallist and the only Indian woman wrestler to have qualified for the Tokyo Games, Vinesh blanked Canada’s Diana Mary Helen Weicker 4-0 in the 53kg title clash.

Vinesh, who had entered the event as world number three, scored all her points in the first period and held on to her lead in the second to ensure a top-of-the-podium finish. Vinesh had won a gold medal in Kyiv last week.

Vinesh did not concede a single point at this tournament, winning two of her three bouts by pinning her rivals while getting injury walkouts in the other two in the eight-woman field.