World Wrestling Championship: Rahul Aware wins bronze, Deepak's silver in India's best ever show
Nur-Sultan (Kazakhstan), Sep 22: Rahul Aware won the biggest medal of his career by bagging a bronze while an injured Deepak Punia settled for a silver after pulling out of the final as India celebrated its best-ever performance at the World Wrestling Championship here on Sunday.
Aware outclassed Tyler Lee Graff, the 2017 Pan- America champion, 11-4 in the 61kg bronze play-off to take India's tally to five medals.
Deepak, the reigning junior world champion did not take mat against Iranian great Hasan Yazdani due to an ankle injury, sustained during the semi-final.
The other medal winners in this edition are Bajrang Punia, Ravi Dahiya and Vinesh Phogat.
India's previous best show was at the 2013 edition, when the country had won three medals through Amit Dahiya (silver), Bajrang Punia (bronze) and Sandeep Tulsi Yadav (bronze in Greco-Roman)
Winning gold medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games was 27-year-old Aware's best performance before.
"I could have won a gold. It was within my reach. I could have won that semi-final (against Beka Lomtadze). I botched it up in the first period," Aware told PTI.
Aware had shown early promise when he won bronze medals at the Asian Championships in 2009 and 2011 but suddenly vanished from the scene after that.
"The injuries pegged me back. I was ready in 2014 but then there were no trials for the CWG or the Asian Games. So I did not get a chance to prove my worth, he argued.
"I feared for losing this chance. After a long time, something good was waiting for me and I was really scared to lose it. I am glad I pulled it off," Aware heaved a sigh of relief.
Westling of late has been a sport dominated by grapplers from Haryana and Aware is first from Maharashtra to win a senior World medal.
"But Maratha sports history will remember me for winning this medal. I am first from that region to do this," he said adding that he would dedicate his medal to his first coach, late Harichander Brajdar.
For the record, the greatest ever Maharashtrian wrestler undoubtedly is late KD Jadhav, who won independent India's first individual medal, a bronze in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics.
Aware, who now trains under Kaka Pawar in Pune, said he was under a lot of self-imposed pressure going into the bout. The American surprised Aware with a double leg attack, the moment the bout started and earned two points with a takedown.
However, he became alert and twice wriggled out of Graff's right leg attacks. He also scored consecutive takedown points to lead 4-2 at the break.
In the second period too, Graff got hold of Aware's right leg but the Indian got himself out of trouble in an impressive manner.
He then pulled the bout away from the American with a flurry of moves the takedowns and expose taking a commanding 10-2 lead. It consolidated further when the American lost a challenge. Eventually he won 11-4.
The morning of the final day of the championships brought with it the news that Deepak will not be able to compete in Sunday's final.
"The left foot is not taking the load. It's difficult to fight in this condition and could have aggravated the injury. I know it was a big chance to fight against Yazdani but I can't help it," Deepak told PTI.
Deepak had come out of the mat limping and a swollen right eye after his semifinal against Switzerland's Stefan Reichmuth.
It was a good draw for Deepak and he exploited it to get the biggest medal of his career.
In a dream run, Deepak reached the final with wins over Reichmuth, Colombia's Carlos Arturo Mendez and Kazakhstan's Adilet Davlumbayev. He became only the fifth Indian ever to reach the World Championship final after Bishamber Singh (1967) Sushil Kumar (2010), Amit Dahiya (2013) and Bajrang Punia (2018). Only last year he had won the junior world championship.
Sushil Kumar remains India's only World Champion. He had won a gold in 2010 in Moscow.
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Cold conditions prevail in north India; temperatures sub-zero in several parts of J-K
New Delhi (PTI): Cold conditions prevailed across north India on Sunday, with the Amarnath yatra base camp being the coldest recorded place in Jammu and Kashmir at minus 4.3 degrees Celsius and parts of Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan reporting minimum temperatures between three and seven degrees Celsius.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said cold wave conditions were "very likely" to prevail in isolated pockets over Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha in Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha on Monday and Tuesday.
In Delhi, the minimum temperature was recorded at eight degrees, up from 6.8 degrees a day ago and yet 1.6 notches below normal.
The maximum temperature was 24.7 degrees Celsius, 0.1 notch below normal, while the relative humidity was 92 per cent in the morning.
For Monday, the weather department forecast a minimum of 10 degrees Celsius and a maximum of 25 degrees Celsius, with mist expected.
Pollution levels in Delhi remained in the "very poor" category on Sunday, prolonging the spell of toxic air that has hung over its residents for several weeks now. The city logged a 24-hour average AQI of 308.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board, an AQI between 0 and 50 is classified "good", 51 and 100 "satisfactory", 101 and 200 "moderate", 201 and 300 "poor", 301 and 400 "very poor" and 401 and 500 "severe".
Further in the north, the night temperatures in Kashmir rose by several degrees but stayed below the freezing point, officials said.
The Pahalgam resort in south Kashmir, which serves as the base camp for the annual Amarnath yatra, was the coldest recorded place in Jammu and Kashmir as the minimum settled at a low of minus 4.3 degrees Celsius.
The minimum temperature in Srinagar -- the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir -- settled at minus 0.9 degrees Celsius, a rise of 3.2 degrees compared to the previous night.
The gateway town to the valley, Qazigund, recorded a low of minus one degree Celsius, while the minimum settled at minus 0.8 degree Celsius in north Kashmir's Kupwara, and 1.1 degrees Celsius in south Kashmir's Kokernag, according to officials.
The meteorological department said the weather would remain generally cloudy but dry on Sunday, and a brief spell of light snowfall at isolated places in the higher reaches of north and central Kashmir is likely on December 8.
In Himachal Pradesh, The IMD predicted dense fog in parts of the state until Wednesday.
A yellow alert for dense fog was also issued in parts of the reservoir area of the Bhakra dam in Bilaspur district and over some parts of the Balh valley in Mandi district during early morning till Monday.
In Punjab, Faridkot remained the coldest place, with the minimum temperature settling at 4.4 degrees Celsius, while in Haryana, Narnaul saw the lowest temperature at 4.6 degrees Celsius, according to the local meteorological department.
Chandigarh, the common capital of the two states, recorded a minimum temperature of 8.2 degrees Celsius.
In Punjab, Bathinda and Gurdaspur recorded a minimum temperature of 4.6 degrees Celsius, while Ferozepur recorded 6 degrees, Amritsar 6.1 degrees, Ludhiana 6.8 degrees, and Patiala 8.9 degrees.
In Haryana, Bhiwani recorded a low of six degrees, Hisar 6.2 degrees, Sirsa 6.6 degrees, Karnal seven degrees, Rohtak 7.8 degrees, and Ambala 9.8 degrees.
Rajasthan, similarly, reeled under intense cold, the Meteorological Centre here said.
Fatehpur in the Sikar district continued to record the lowest minimum temperature, albeit at 3.5 degrees Celsius, slightly up from 2.3 degrees a day ago.
According to the weather department, Lunkaransar (Bikaner) recorded a low of 5 degrees Celsius, followed by Dausa at 6 degrees, Churu at 6.3 degrees, Vanasthali (Tonk) at 6.4 degrees and Jhunjhunu at 7.2 degrees Celsius on Sunday morning.
The department said a fresh but weak western disturbance is likely to cause partly cloudy skies in some parts of the state over the next few days.
Under its influence, the minimum temperature is expected to rise by two to three degrees Celsius, providing relief from the cold wave, it said.
Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, eight districts recorded minimum temperatures below 10 degrees Celsius, the IMD said, noting a cold wave in parts of the state.
Gumla recorded the lowest temperature in the state at 3.5 degrees Celsius — up from three degrees Celsius — while Khunti logged five degrees Celsius, the IMD weather bulletin stated.
The minimum temperature in Jharkhand's capital, Ranchi, was 7.5 degrees Celsius, while Daltonganj recorded 6.5 degrees and Jamshedpur recorded 9.6 degrees Celsius.
Deputy Director of the Ranchi Meteorological Centre, Abhishek Anand, said, "North-westerly winds prevailing in the lower tropospheric levels over Jharkhand have caused the drop in mercury."
"Dry weather conditions are likely to prevail across the state over the next five days. The minimum temperature may rise by 2–3 degrees Celsius during the next 72 hours," he added.
In West Bengal, the mercury dipped below the 10-degree mark for the first time this winter in the state's plains with Sriniketan in Birbhum districts recording a minimum temperature of 9.8 degrees Celsius on Sunday, the IMD said.
Its forecast for West Bengal suggested dry weather across all districts of West Bengal for the next week, with shallow to moderate fog likely in the northern districts.
Darjeeling was the coldest in the hills at 6.2 degrees Celsius, while the other Himalayan tourist town of Kalimpong was warmer at 10.5 degrees Celsius.
The other places which recorded low night temperatures are Alipurduar (11 degrees), Kalyani (11.4 degrees), Purulia (11.4 degrees) and Panagarh (11.9 degrees).
Kolkata recorded a minimum temperature of 15.2 degrees Celsius, the IMD said, forecasting mist in the morning on Monday.
IMD further predicted dense fog conditions in isolated pockets of Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, and Tripura between December 8 and 12.
It was also "very likely" in parts of west Madhya Pradesh on Monday and in Odisha until Tuesday.
In west India, a gradual fall by two to three degrees over the next three-four days is expected, and no significant change is anticipated thereafter, the IMD said.
