India’s Sumit Malik earned a quota spot in 125kg at Tokyo 2020 while Amit Dhankar and Satywart Kadian were ousted from the World Wrestling Olympic Qualifiers after losing at different stages of the competition in Sofia, Bulgaria on Thursday.
Sumit, with a strong counterattacking display, defeated Venezuela’s Jose Daniel Diaz Robertti 5-0 in the semifinals and earned a shot at his maiden Olympic appearance. His opponent, on the other hand, was a two-time Olympian. The Indian earned his first point on account of passivity and in the second period made the most of Diaz’s attempts to attack and get back into the bout. Sumit stood firm on defence and converted counter moves to earn a couple of two-pointers.
Sumit’s efforts earned a seventh wrestling spot for India at the upcoming Summer Games. Six Indian wrestlers had qualified already before this event. In men’s freestyle, Ravi Dahiya (57kg), Bajrang Punia (65kg) and Deepak Punia (86kg) made the cut, while Vinesh…