CWG 2022: Indian grappler Deepak Nehra defeats Pakistan’s Tayab Raza to clinch bronze medal

Birmingham: Indian wrestler Deepak Nehra clinched the bronze medal in the Men’s Freestyle 97kg category final after defeating Tayab Raza of Pakistan in the ongoing Commonwealth Games 2022 on Saturday.

Nehra sealed a 10-2 win via victory by points against Tayab Raza in the bronze medal match. It was six out of six for Indian wrestlers on Day 9 of the Commonwealth Games 2022. He also became India’s 37th medallist and 14th bronze medallist.

Nehra started the bout on an aggressive note as he looked for a pinfall to get an early win but the Pakistani wrestler was showing determination and grit to stay alive in the bout. The Indian grappler took a lead of 3-2 in the first period by pinning his opponent.

Nehra delivered a dominant show as he kept his Pakistani opponent in a tight hold from time to time throughout the bout.

In the final three minutes, Nehra managed to hold his ground well by pinning and rolling his opponent out of the ring to walk away with a bronze medal.

Earlier in the day, Indian grappler Pooja Gehlot won the bronze medal in the Women’s Freestyle 50 kg category. She defeated Christine Lemofack Letchidjio of Scotland at the Coventry Arena Wrestling Mat B on Saturday.

On the other hand, Ravi Dahiya added to India’s medal tally at the Commonwealth Games 2022 with a gold medal, his maiden at the CWG, in the men’s freestyle 57kg category in wrestling.

Dahiya sealed a 10-0 victory by technical superiority against Ebikewenimo Welson in the gold medal match.

Vinesh Phogat, meanwhile, won the gold medal in the women’s freestyle 53kg category after defeating Chamodya Keshani Maduravalage of Sri Lanka. The match lasted for two minutes and 24 seconds as Phogat sealed the victory by fall.