Indian Hardeep sprang a surprise by booking an Olympic quota place for India in Greco-Roman wrestling after finishing with a silver medal in the 98kg category on the last day of the Asian Olympic Qualification championship.
This is the first time an Indian Greco-Roman wrestler has secured an Olympic berth after 2004 Athens Games when Mausam Khatri had made the cut. The sport is not something that Indian wrestlers are usually associated to which makes Hardeep’s achievement even bigger.
In fact, in a heavy-weight category, this is the first time that an Indian Greco-Roman grappler has ensured a place in the Games. Hardeep’s qualification was ensured as soon as he made it to the finals of the championship. The top two finishers in each weight category are assured of a ticket to Rio Olympics 2016.
Hardeep was congratulated by Sarbananda Sonowal, MOS for Youth Affairs and Sports for his achievement.
In the final bout, Hardeep lost on the account of injury default to his opponent Di Xiao of China and had to be content with a second-place finish. On his way to final, Hardeep stunned everyone with the ease with which he overcame his rivals. After thrashing Arslan Saparmammedov of Turkmenistan 11-0 in his quarterfinal bout, he outplayed Margulan Assembekov of Kazakhstan 11-2 in the semis to advance to the gold-medal round.
However, other Indians in the fray– Vinesh Phogat (women’s 48kg), Anita (women’s 63kg), Somveer (men’s 86kg freestyle), Hitender (men’s 125kg freestyle) and Ravinder (Greco-Roman 66kg) failed to book Olympic berth.
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