On Friday, Punia and Kalakal were scheduled to compete at the Asian Wrestling Olympic Qualifiers, which is the penultimate qualifying event for Indian wrestlers looking to secure a quota for the Summer Games.
The Asian Wrestling Championships will kick off in Astana, Kazakhstan from April 9 onwards and will go on till April 14, the event will see India fielding a contingent featuring plenty of firepower despite the absence of names like Ravi Kumar Dahiya, Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik.
Bajrang Punia established his superiority in the men's freestyle 65kg division, winning the gold medal at Birmingham 2022 by beating Lachlan McNeil of Canada 9-2 in the final on Friday.
Deepak was at his most dominant in this match which lasted for three minutes and 22 seconds. He crushed his New Zealand opponent by 10-0.
Despite a win, it was an unimpressive result from him as the Indian contingent was expecting a better outing from the world championships silver medallist in the tournament.
Deepak Punia, a former world championships silver medallist, began his campaign with a 6-0 win over Iranian grappler Mohsen Miryousef Mostafavi Alanjagh before ousting South Korean Olympian Kim Gwanuk, a bronze medallist at the Asian Games 2014, 5-0 in the semi-finals.
My best wishes to Deepak for his future endeavours. #Tokyo2020, said PM Modi.
Deepak Punia lost the Bronze narrowly but he has won our hearts.
Besides Deepak Punia (86kg), the two other wrestlers who have tested positive for the virus are Navin (65kg) and Krishan (125kg).
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.
