
CWG '22: Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik seal two golds medals for India in wrestling
Birmingham/IBNS: It is a glorious day for Indian sports with Bajrang Punia giving the country its first gold medal in wrestling at the ongoing Commonwealth Games 2022, only to be followed by Sakshi Malik in the women's 62kg category to add a second yellow medal in the sport
Puniya beat Canada's Lachlan McNeil in the men's 65kg freestyle wrestling final.
It was a technically perfect bout from Bajrang in the final as he beat the Canadian 9-2 on points.
Congratulating Puniya, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted: "The talented@BajrangPunia is synonymous with consistency and excellence. He wins a Gold at the Birmingham CWG. Congratulations to him for the remarkable feat, his 3rd consecutive CWG medal. His spirit and confidence is inspiring. My best wishes always."
The talented @BajrangPunia is synonymous with consistency and excellence. He wins a Gold at the Birmingham CWG. Congratulations to him for the remarkable feat, his 3rd consecutive CWG medal. His spirit and confidence is inspiring. My best wishes always. pic.twitter.com/hjBYjd1lCP
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 5, 2022
A few minutes later, 2016 Rio Olympics bronze medallist Sakshi Malik outwitted Canada's Ana Gonzalez in the women's 62kg category to add a second gold in wrestling.
Bajrang is an Olympic bronze medallist (Tokyo 2020) and also has another gold and a silver medal in the Commonwealth Games to his name. He has one silver and two bronze medals to his name in World Championships.
Sakshi Malik, meanwhile, won her first gold medal at CWG. She won a silver in the 58kg category in 2014 and a bronze in the 62kg category in 2018.