Indian wrestler Sumit Malik has qualified for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics in the men’s 125kg freestyle category with a commanding win over Venezuela’s Jose Daniel Diaz Robertti in the semi-finals of the World Wrestling Olympic Qualifiers being held in Sofia, Bulgaria. He has thus become the seventh wrestler from India to qualify for the Games.
Sumit led by a slender 0-1 lead midway into the bout and extended the gap further as it progressed, in the end winning by a margin of 5-0.
He joins Ravi Dahiya (57kg), Bajrang Punia (65kg), and Deepak Punia (86kg) in the men’s section in the list of wrestlers who have made the cut for Tokyo. Vinesh Phogat (53kg), Anshu Malik (57kg) and Sonam Malik (62kg) are the three women to have made it to the quadrennial event that begins on July 23.
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In the qualification round, Sumit found himself trailing 1-2 to Kyrgyzstan’s Aiaal Lazarev as the bout entered the last 25 seconds. Fortunately for the Indian, he got a push-out point towards the dying moments of the contest and clinched victory on criteria, with the score tied at 3-2.
Sumit had to face a tough bout in the pre-quarter finals against Moldova’s Alexandr Romanov, and had to once again come back from behind to progress. The match ended 2-2, as the 28-year old won the encounter on criteria like the previous round.
The quarter-finals saw him shift gears. Up against Tajikistan’s Rustam Iskandari, he initially struggled and conceded a 2-4 lead. However, Sumit logged four two-pointers to comfortably pocket the contrst and storm into the semi-finals of the World Wrestling Olympic Qualifiers.
The finalists at this competition are supposed to earn direct berths for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Amit Dhankar (74kg) and Satiywart Kadiyan (97kg) had earlier been eliminated from the event. Meanwhile, in the women’s section, Seema Bisla (50kg), Nisha Dahiya (68kg) and Pooja (76kg) are also eyeing a Tokyo berth.
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