Wrestling World Championship: Deepak Punia pulls out of final, settles for silver
Nur-Sultan (Kazakhstan): Young wrestler Deepak Punia on Sunday pulled out of the World Championship title clash in 86kg against Iranian great Hazsan Yazdani due to an ankle injury sustained during the semifinal bout.
"The left foot is not taking the load. It's difficult to fight in this condition. I know it was a big chance to fight against Yazdani but I can't help it," Deepak told PTI.
The 20-year-old Indian will have to be content with a silver medal in his debut senior world championship.
Deepak had come out of the mat limping and with a swollen right eye after his semifinal against Switzerland's Stefan Reichmuth on Saturday.
In a dream run, Deepak reached the final with wins over Reichmuth, Colombia's Carlos Arturo Mendez and Kazakhstan's Adilet Davlumbayev.
It was a good draw for Deepak and he exploited it to get the biggest medal of his career. Only last year, he had won the junior world championship title.
Sushil Kumar remains India's only world champion. He had won a gold in 66kg in 2010 World Championship in Moscow. Rahul Aware will fight for a bronze medal in 61kg later on Sunday.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Iran state TV says it was hit in strikes amid war escalation
Tehran: Iranian state television has said it was targeted by military strikes after a series of powerful explosions were reported in the capital Tehran.
The broadcaster said it was hit but remained on the air, adding that “the technical team is assessing the damage”. This is not the first time the network has been affected during conflict; its facilities were struck in previous clashes between Iran and Israel.
The report came as heavy strikes continued to rock parts of Tehran and other Iranian cities after joint military action by the United States and Israel.
