Those 3 wrestlers who can challenge Bajrang Punia in Tokyo Olympics 2020?

Wrestling is not a new word or a new sport for Indian fans. For years, even before independence, wrestling has been an important part of the Indian sporting culture. Talking about wrestling in the context of the Olympic Games, Indian wrestlers have won medals in this sporting event continuously since the 2008 Beijing Olympics and now Indian wrestler Bajrang Punia, who will compete in the 65 kg freestyle event at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. One of the medal contenders.

However, some wrestlers stand in the midst of their Olympic medal-winning goal, which we will learn about in this article.

Let's have a look at those names –

Gadzhimurad Rashidov (ROC)

For those who do not know much about Gadzhimurad Rashidov, let us tell you that Gadzhimurad is also the current world champion (2019) and two-time European champion in wrestling (2016, 2018).

In 2019, the Russian wrestler switched to the 65kg weight category and since then he has been making headlines in the world of wrestling. Of the last five tournaments he has participated in, Gadzhimurad has won gold medals in four.

Also, since winning the world title in September 2019, he won the title at the World Military Games in China and was crowned the national champion in December of the same year.

All these achievements make him one of the strong contenders to win the gold medal in Olympic Games as well.

Takuto Otoguro (Japan)

Next, we'll talk about Japanese wrestler Takuto Otoguro, who will be playing at the home Olympics this time, and he will also prove to be a serious threat to Bajrang's hopes of becoming a gold medalist at the Games.

To begin with, the Japanese wrestler is the 2018 world champion and has also been crowned Asian champion on two occasions – 2020 and 2021.

But the important thing is that Bajrang Punia has played against Takuto Otoguro thrice, and all three times he has to face defeat.

Bajrang first lost to the Japanese wrestler in the final of the 2018 World Championships and then had to face defeat in the final of the Asian Meet last year. Apart from this, the Indian wrestler against Takuto had withdrawn due to injury in the final of the Asian Wrestling Championship held in April.

Haji Aliyev (Azerbaijan)

Another wrestler to challenge Bajrang is Haji Aliyev from Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan is also famous for producing world-class wrestlers and boxers.

Haji, a world champion on three occasions (2014, 2015 and 2017), also won a bronze medal in the 57kg category at the Rio Games five years ago. Now in the new weight category (65kg) and with a lot of experience, he will continue to be the favorite to challenge Bajrang and win the gold medal this time.

Now if we talk about his form, this two-time European champion has a gold medal in the Club World Championships held in Iran in 2019 and in March last year, he was also a bronze medalist in the Individual World Cup. In addition, Haji won a silver medal at the European Olympic Qualifiers in Hungary.