Bajrang strikes gold

Silver each for Khatri, Pooja; Divya bags bronze

Gold Coast, April 13: Bajrang Kumar won the gold medal in the 65kg while Mausam Khatri (97kg) and Pooja Dhanda (57kg) won a silver each and Divya Kakran (68kg) bagged a bronze medal as Indian wrestlers enjoyed a successful day at the 21st Commonwealth Games (CWG) here on Friday.

Bajrang needed only around two minutes to overpower Kane Charig of Wales by technical superiority in the final.

The Indian came up with a series of awe inspiring performances over the course of his campaign to win all his bouts by technical superiority and win his first major international tournament in style.

Bouts are awarded on the basis of technical superiority when a wrestler takes a lead of 10 or more points.

Bajrang was in a class of his own. He had started his campaign with a power-packed display against Brahm Richards of New Zealand that lasted just a couple of minutes.

In the quarter-finals, Bajrang outclassed Amas Daniel of Nigeria, building up a 10-0 lead early in the second round.

The domination contiuned in the semi-finals where Bajrang pulled off a series of two-point moves against Vincent De Marinis of Canada to take a 8-0 lead in the first round. Another takedown just after the break earned him the win and a place in the final.

Later, Khatri had to be satisfied with silver in his division. Khatri lost to reigning African champion Martin Erasmus of South Africa by technical superiority in the 97kg freestyle final.

Khatri was trailing 2-12 when the officials awarded the bout to the South African.

In the women's section, Pooja lost 5-7 to defending champion Odunayo Adekuoroye of Nigeria in the final. The Nigerian had won the title at the 2014 CWG in Glasgow as well. Pooja had defeated Joseph Tiako of Cameroon 11-5 in the semi-finals.

In the final, Pooja was in trouble in the first round as Odunayo took a formidable 6-1 lead. The Indian had almost pulled off a pin in the closing stages of the first period, but the defending champion managed to wriggle out of trouble.

Pooja staged a strong fight back after the break. She pulled off a couple of two-point moves to outscore the Nigerian by a 4-1 margin in the second round. But Odunayo managed to hold on to retain the title.

In the women's 68kg class, Divya defeated Sherin Sultana of Bangladesh by fall to take a bronze medal.

Earlier in the semi-finals, Divya lost by technical superiority to Nigeria's Blessing Oborududu.

The 19-year-old from Delhi was no match for the more experienced Blessing as the Nigerian opened up a 11-1 lead in the second round to clinch the issue. IANS