Indian wrestler Deepak Punia made an impressive return to competitive action by reaching the 92kg freestyle final on the opening day of the Senior Open Ranking wrestling tournament at the Nandini Nagar Mahavidyalaya campus on Sunday.
The former World Championships silver medallist looked sharp throughout the day, dominating his opponents with a series of commanding victories. Punia, who won silver at the 2019 World Championships and the 2022 Asian Games in the 86kg category, barely broke a sweat on his path to the final.
He opened his campaign with a 10-0 win over Rahul before overpowering Sachin Kumar 11-0. His quarterfinal opponent Abhishek withdrew due to injury, allowing Punia safe passage into the next round. The experienced wrestler then defeated Rahul Hooda by fall and crushed Raja 11-0 in the semifinal to book a title clash against Vansh.
The tournament marks an important comeback for Punia, whose preparations for the Paris Olympic cycle were severely disrupted last year. In April 2024, Punia and fellow wrestler Sujeet Kalkal were stranded at Dubai International Airport because of severe flooding and failed to reach Bishkek in time for the Asian Olympic qualifier.
While Punia’s run to the final was among the highlights of the day, the biggest surprise came in the 125kg category where former Asian bronze medallist Anirudh Kumar suffered an early exit.
The 24-year-old, who had previously won the Asian Under-23 title, defeated Harsh and Pushpender before losing 8-4 to relatively unknown wrestler Rohit in the round of 16. Rohit, however, was later beaten 4-3 by Shubham in the quarterfinals, which also ended Anirudh’s hopes of entering the repechage rounds for a possible bronze medal.
The tournament itself carries added significance this year. Originally scheduled for 2023, the event had been halted due to the nationwide wrestlers’ protest and has now officially returned to the Wrestling Federation of India calendar at the same venue.
There was considerable attention around the competition because of speculation surrounding Vinesh Phogat and a possible comeback from retirement. However, the star wrestler was eventually deemed ineligible to compete.
Despite a delayed start of nearly two hours, the event saw massive participation. A total of 593 freestyle wrestlers across 10 weight categories competed throughout the day and into the evening. Due to the packed schedule, officials decided to conduct bouts only up to the semifinals on Sunday, with all medal matches scheduled for Monday morning.
