Tokyo Olympics: PM Modi speaks to Bajrang Punia, lauds him on winning bronze
Aug 07, 2021
New Delhi [India], August 7 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday spoke to grappler Bajrang Punia and congratulated him on winning a bronze medal at the ongoing Tokyo Olympics.
The Prime Minister also lauded Bajrang for his determination and hard work that has led to the accomplishment.
Bajrang won a bronze medal in the men's freestyle 65kg category in the ongoing Tokyo Olympics after defeating Kazakhstan's Daulet Niyazbekov here at the Makuhari Messe Hall A Mat B on Saturday. He defeated Niyazbekov 8-0.
As a result of this win, India has equalled its tally of six medals recorded at the London Olympics 2012. In the ongoing Tokyo 2020, Mirabai Chanu (silver), PV Sindhu (bronze), Lovlina Borgohain (bronze), men's hockey team ( bronze), and Ravi Kumar Dahiya (silver) have also won medals.
In the match between Bajrang and Niyazbekov, the former went on to take a 2-0 lead in the first period and all the pressure was on the Kazakh opponent heading into the last three minutes.
In the final three minutes, Bajrang managed to hold his own and he kept his opponent at bay walking away with a bronze medal.
On Friday, Bajrang had faced a crushing defeat in the semi-finals at the hands of Haji Aliyev of Azerbaijan. Aliyev defeated Bajrang 12-5 as the former dominated proceedings from the word go.