Amman (Jordan): Indian wrester Udit kept the country in gold medal contention in the men’s freestyle event by reaching the final of men’s 61kg while the experienced Deepak Punia (92kg) and Mukul Dahiya (86kg) entered the semifinals at the Asian Championships here Sunday.
Udit blanked China’s Wanhao Zou 2-0 after prevailing 9-6 against Bekbolot Myrzanzar Uulu from Kyrgyzstan.
Punia, who could not qualify for the Paris Olympics, began his comeback with a hard-fought contest against Bekzat Rakhimov.
He faced stiff resistance from his Kyrgyzstan rival but prevailed 12-7 in a high-scoring quarterfinal. Now Japan’s Takashi Ishiguro stands between him and an assured medal.
The surprise package of the day was Dahiya, who logged two impressive wins to reach the semifinals.
Singapore’s Weng Luen Gary Chow was an easy prey for Dahiya, who won by technical superiority and without losing a point and then beat world number two Mukhammad Abdullaev from Kyrgyzstan 3-1.
In the semifinal, he is up against Iran’s world number three Abolfazl Y.
Rahmani Firouzjaei.
Also reaching the semifinals was Dinesh in heavyweight 125kg class. The Indian outclassed China’s Buheeerdun to win by technical superiority.
Jaideep Ahlawat (74kg), though, was ousted. He found a tough Japanese opponent in Hikaru Takata in his opening bout, in which he put up a brave resistance but lost 5-10.
