Wrestler Sumit Malik qualifies for Tokyo Olympics

Wrestler Sumit Malik qualifies for Tokyo Olympics

Sumit Malik

India secured another quota at the Tokyo Olympics as Sumit Malik became the fourth Indian men’s free style wrestler to make it after he reached the final in the 125 kg category at the World Olympic Qualifiers in Sofia. The other three men in the free style category to already secure Olympic spots are Ravi Dahiya (57 kg), Bajrang Punia (65 kg) and Deepak Punia (86 kg).

This will be Sumit Malik’s first appearance at an Olympic games. His was previously a gold medalist at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. All focus will now shift to the Games after the final of the qualifying event as there are less than three months left for the same. With preparations in full swing among the organizers and athletes, India could be in for a rich haul and Sumit Malik would be among the ones to succeed.

Sumit Malik’s aggressive wrestling sees him through

Sumit Malik
Sumit Malik

Sumit Malik was markedly aggressive in the qualifying tournament as he sought to exert his influence on all matches. In the all-important semi-final which was a must-win, Sumit blanked Venezuela’s Jose Daniel Diaz Robertti with a 5-0 scoreline. However, not all bouts before that were as simple. In a previous match against Kyrgyzstan’s Aiaal Lazarev, Sumit had been trailing 1-2 till the last 25 seconds before sparking a comeback.

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Similarly against Moldova’s Alexandr Romanov, he was trailing 0-1 due to a passivity point. However, in the last stages of the bout, he came up with a two-point throw to clinch victory. The quarter-final stage also saw a remarkable comeback as Sumit was down 2-4 before getting four two-pointers late on to seal victory.

On the other hand, Amit Dhankar missed out on qualification as he lost 6-9 to Moldova’s Mihail Sava. Kadiya also fell at the quarter-final stage against Bulgaria’s Ahmed Sultanovich Bataev.

Also Read: Indian gymnast Pranati Nayak qualifies for Tokyo Olympics