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| Dominant Ravi grabs gold, struggling Bajrang settles for silver, Gourav impressive in 2nd place finish | | |  agencies
NEW DELHI, Apr 24: Ravi Dahiya's physical prowess and superior tactical acumen was on show yet again as he became the first Indian wrestler to win three gold medals at the Asian Championship but Bajrang Punia struggled badly on his return to action even as he grabbed a silver, here on Saturday.
Tokyo Olympics silver medallist Ravi was his usual dominant self in his three bouts as he outclassed the 57kg field to emerge champion.
Gourav Balian (79kg) was impressive in his silver-winning effort while Naveen (70kg), making his senior debut and the seasoned Satywart Kadiyan (97kg), bagged bronze medals as all five Indians in action earned podium finishes.
The 24-year-old Ravi Dahiya conceded early lead in all his bouts, but as is his wont, he bounced back in tremendous fashion to give India its first gold medal of this edition. He won the final against Kazakhstan's Rakhat Kalzhan by technical superiority. It was his second final of the season, having won a silver at the Dan Kolov event in February. Ravi, who hails from Nahri village in Sonepat, outsmarted Japan's Rikuto Arai (VSU) and pulled off a comprehensive 12-5 win over Mongolia's Zanabazar Zandanbud en route the final.
In the title clash, Kalzhan moved ahead with a take-down and for considerable time did not let the Indian make any move. However, true to his style, Ravi began to dominate the bout with his unmatched class.
He effected six consecutive two-pointers and in-between saved himself from a left-leg attack to finish the bout early in the second period to secure India's first gold medal of the tournament this year.
Before the final, the Japanese was quick with his moves and initially troubled Ravi with his double-leg attacks which even took the Indian off his feet but once the Haryana wrestler got the measure of his rival, he dictated the terms in the bout. Ravi not only found away to block Arai's attack but also got himself into position to initiate take-down moves from both sides as the Japanese did not have a plan 'B' to counter the in-form Indian.
Ravi kept consolidating his lead and eventually won by technical superiority.
In the semifinal against Zandanbud, Ravi fell behind 0-4 after the home wrestler effected a take-down move and followed that up with a gut-wrench but Ravi again was quick in finding a way to thwart his rival. |
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