Bajrang, who belongs to Khuddan village in Jhajjar district, had edged past Kyrgyzstan's Ernazar Akmataliev and then pinned Iran's Morteza Cheka Ghiasi to reach the semifinals. However, his perennial leg-defence weakness came to haunt him at the big stage as he lost to Aliev.
Rio Olympics bronze-winner Aliev of Azerbaijan consistently attacked Bajrang's legs and twice got himself into position from where he could roll the Indian comfortably for easy two-point throws.
If Bajrang manages to win bronze, India will match its best result at the Olympics. Sushil Kumar and Yogeshwar Dutt had won a silver and a bronze at the 2012 London Games.
Before the Olympics, Bajrang had told THE WEEK: "These are going to be my first Olympics and it is of course special for me because representing their country at the Olympic stage is every athlete’s dream. Having said that, one cannot enter the competition thinking about all the medals they have won in past competitions. My focus is always on performing to the best of my ability in the challenge in front of me. I approach every competition in the same way, and the Olympics will be the same for me."
"Covid has caused a major inconvenience in our regular training routine. When the pandemic began, for the first 9 to 10 months it was incredibly difficult as no one could practice or train together as everyone was confined to their home. Of course, wrestling is a sport that also requires a lot of physical contact, so it was very difficult to train keeping the covid regulations in mind. But, I was fortunate to have my friend Jitender who plays in 74 Kg category and my physiotherapist Manish with me and we practiced together," he said.
-Inputs from Anirudh Madhavan, agencies
