The 27-year-old wrestler, who made his Olympics debut at the ongoing Games, outwitted Kazakhstan's Daulet Niyazbekov in the play-off round.
A summary of the country's athletes showing at the Tokyo Olympics on Saturday, August 7.
'I could not do mat training for nearly 25 days. I was not able to run as well after the injury. Before a tournament like Olympics even missing one day's training is not good.'
Bajrang Punia lost his semi-final bout against home wrestler Daulet Niyazbekov under controversial circumstances after he secured his place in the Tokyo Olympics along with debutant Ravi Dahiya at the World Wrestling Championships.
Shrugging off his controversial semi-final defeat, Bajrang Punia bagged his third World Wrestling Championships medal while Ravi Dahiya made his debut memorable by grabbing a bronze.
Neeraj Chopra's soaring javelin did not just earn India their first Olympic gold in athletics on Saturday, it also meant that the contingent will return from Tokyo with seven medals, their biggest Games haul ever.
Wrestling's world governing body UWW announced fresh rankings which placed Bajrang at number two in the 65kg category. Dahiya is fourth in the very competitive 57kg category.
As the curtains come down at the Tokyo Olympics, here's a glance at the medallists and those who came within touching distance of glory.
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