Asian Wrestling Championships: Bajrang Punia, Ravi Dahiya storm into final

Star Indian wrestlers Bajrang Punia and Ravi Dahiya on Saturday assured themselves of at least silver medals at the ongoing Asian Wrestling Championships after booking their place in the final of their respective weight categories at the KD Jadhav Wrestling Hall in New Delhi. 

Punia swept aside junior world champion Amirhossein Magshoudi of Iran 10-0 by technical superiority in semi-final bout of the 65 kg category to book his place in the summit showdown of the tournament. 

The Asian Games gold medallist, who defeated Uzbekistan's Abbos Rakhmonov 12-2 in his quarter-final clash earlier in the day, will now square off with Takuto Otoguro of Japan in what will be a rematch of the 2018 World Championships final.

Dahiya, on the other hand, beat Kazakhstan's world championship bronze medallist Nurislam Sanayev 7-2 in the last-four bout of the men's 57 kg category event to storm into the final. Dahiya has now set up a title clash against Tajikstan's Hikmatullo Vohidov.

Besides the duo, Satyawart Kadiyan (97kg) and Gourav Baliyan (79kg)--the other Indians in the fray---also cemented their spot in the final of the tournament after winning their respective semi-final clashes and assuring themselves of silver medals.

While Satyawart thrashed Tajikistan's Rustam Iskandari 10-0 to set up the gold medal clash against Mojtaba Mohammadshafie Goleij of Iran, Baliyan clinched a 6-5 win over Japan's Shinkichi Okui to book his place in the final where he will lock horns with Kyrgyzstan's Arsalan Budazhapov.