Indian star boxer and Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Bajrang Punia scripted history when he became the first Indian wrestler to win the gold medal at Commonwealth Games 2022 on August 5. The 28-year-old defeated Canadian wrestler Lachlan McNeil 9-2 to clinch the gold medal.
The wrestler’s gold medal win helped India to topple South Africa in the medal count with 23 medals. However, by the end of the night, four more wrestlers won medals at the Commonwealth Games 2022, taking India’s total tally to 26 and at the fifth spot in the table behind Australia, England, Canada and New Zealand.
It was also Bajrang Punia’s third medal at the Commonwealth Games. The star Indian wrestler made his games debut in the 2014 Glasgow edition, where he won the silver medal after being defeated by Canadian David Tremblay in the final of the 61kg event.
Watch Bajrang Punia’s gold medal-winning moment here:
However, since then he has switched to the 65kg category and won consecutive gold medals at the Commonwealth Games in 2018 and 2022, defeating Kane Charig of Wales and Lachlan McNeil of Canada in respective editions.
Bajrang Punia was one of India’s brightest medal hopes at the Commonwealth Games 2022. He began his campaign with a win over Lowe Bingham of Nauru in the pre-quarterfinals in less than two minutes. The wrestler continued his winning form in the quarterfinals, where he beat Jean Guyliane Joris Bandou of Mauritius, before toppling George Ramm of England in the semifinals.
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Punia faced Canada’s Lachlan McNeil in the final of the event. While the Canadian wrestler displayed some effort, it was not enough to stop Bajrang on his road to winning the gold medal. He beat McNeil 9-2 in the final, becoming the first Indian wrestler to win a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games 2022.
Following his victory, Sakshi Malik and Deepak Punia also claimed gold medals in wrestling in their respective events on Friday.
