Wrestling News: Bajrang Punia stars after winning eight-man invitational meet in US

Indian wrestler Bajrang Punia, who returned to competitive wrestling after almost a year-long wait, showed his toughness as he won the eight-man invitational (68kg) FloWrestling meet in Austin, Texas. Punia, who is one of the four Indian wrestlers to have won a quota place for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, beat two-time world championships medallist James Green 8-4 in the final to clinch the title and the $25,000 prize money. The 26-year-old Bajrang Punia, a three-time world championships medallist, started the final bout against the US wrestler strongly with a two-point exposure. Green, though, bounced right back with back-to-back takedowns to build up a 4-2 lead. Bajrang responded with a takedown of his own to make the score 4-4 going into the break. In the second period, the Indian took control of the bout and raced to an 8-4 lead after executing a takedown and turn. He then fended off Green's attempts to mount a comeback effectively to secure the bout along with the title.