Indian wrestler Deepak Punia, who recently won the silver medal in the World Championships, on Friday attained the top-most position in the world rankings in the 86-kg freestyle men’s wrestling category.
Deepak has 82 points in his kitty, four more than 2019 World Champion Hasan Yazdani. Third in the list is Fatih Erdin with 44 points.
Deepak, the reigning junior world champion, concluded his 2019 World Championships campaign with the silver medal after pulling out of the summit clash against Iranian great Yazdani due to an ankle injury in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan last week. Meanwhile, the 19-year-old became the youngest Indian wrestler ever to make it to the finals, and also bagged a ticket to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
In 65-kg weight category, Bajrang Punia, who managed a bronze medal at the World Championships after his controversial semifinal loss, has lost his number one spot to Gadzhimurad Rashidov of Russia.
Bajrang, with 63 points, is at the second spot while Rashidov, who won gold in Nur-Sultan, is at the top spot with 72 points. Haji Mohamad Ali of Bahrain is third in the list with 44 points.
In 57-kg category, Ravi Dahiya, who also won the bronze medal in the World Championships, has entered the top-five. He is ranked fifth with 39 points while Rahul Aware’s bronze medal has pushed him to the second spot in the 61-kg weight category.
In women’s wrestling, Vinesh Phogat, who also bagged a bronze medal in Nur Sultan, has made a move of four places in the rankings in 53-kg category. Vinesh, who also secured the quota for next year’s Tokyo Olympics, is now at the second spot with 71 points.
Seema Bisla, who failed to win a medal in Kazakhstan, has dropped to number three in 50-kg category, while Pooja Dhanda is ranked five in 59-kg, two places behind compatriot Manju Kumari.
(With inputs from IANS)