Aman wins first Olympic quota in men's wrestling, Deepak Punia falters

Youngster Aman Sehrawat broke the deadlock in the men's wrestling and won the first Paris Olympic quota in 57kg category while Deepak Punia faltered in 86kg at the World Olympic qualifiers on Saturday.

Aman, the U23 world champion and also the senior Asian Championship title winner, was expected to put up a strong show and he did not disappoint.

After missing out on the qualification at the Asian qualifiers, Aman put up a dominant show in this tournament to win all the matches and book his berth.

With his qualification, Aman became the first Indian male wrestler to secure berth for Paris Games, saving the country from embarrassment of no qualification in men's section.

Tokyo Olympics silver medallist Ravi Dahiya also competes in 57kg and if WFI holds trials Aman may have to wrestle with him to book his Paris ticket.

Also putting up an impressive show was Sujeet Kalkal, who lost the men's 65kg semifinal 1-6 to Mongolia's formidable Tulga Tumur-Ochir, the Asian Games champion and Asian Championship silver medallist.

Sujeet will have another chance as he will need two more bouts to qualify for the Paris Games.

Deepak Punia faltered in 86kg

Tokyo Olympian Deepak Punia (86kg) bumped into a very powerful Zushen Lin from China in his first bout and ended up losing 4-6 despite taking the lead.

Punia, the most experienced wrestler in the Indian squad, was quick with his attack in the first period, which he ended with a 3-0 cushion.

However, the Chinese turned the tables on the Indian, beginning with a double-leg attack which he converted into a takedown move for two points. He rolled Punia to make it 4-3.

The Chinese later lost his quarterfinal, closing the repechage route for the Indian.

In the 74kg weight class, Jaideep Ahlawat has another chance through repechage after losing to Slovakia's Taimuraz Salkazanov in quarters.