Star Indian wrestler Bajrang Punia, one of the medal contenders in Tokyo 2020, lost his semi-final bout against Haji Aliyev from Azerbaijan in the semifinal. While it was Punia who took a 1-0 lead in the first period, Aliyev cruised to a 4-1 lead by winning back-to-back points. In the second period, Aliyev’s lead swelled up to 8-1 after which Punia fought back to reduce his opponent’s lead to 3-8. Aliyev won the bout 12-5.

Aliyev bagged a bronze medal at 2016 Rio Olympics in 57kg and is also a three-time world champion in 61kg. He is also a two-time European champion in the 65kg category too.

Punia and Aliyev had not met at the international stage, their only bout happening in the 2019 Pro Wrestling League – where Punia won 8-6 to give his side, Punjab Royals, a win against the MP Yodhas.

In the quarter-final, Bajrang trailed the Iranian for a major part of the bout after being severely crippled by Ghiasi’s defensive tactics, especially the body-locks, Bajrang fought back in the second period and moved into a position from where he turned his rival, pushed him on the mat and held him with his immense strength to emerge victorious by fall.

In his opening bout on Friday, Punia survived a scare as he edged past Kyrgyzstan’s Ernazar Akmataliev to set up a quarterfinal clash against Iran’s Morteza Ghiasi at the Tokyo 2020. While the score was levelled 3-3 after the bout, Punia was declared winner since he had scored the highest-scoring move in the match — the two-point takedown in the first period.