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Wrestler Deepak Punia delivered good news to the Indians from Tokyo as he qualified for the semifinals of the men's freestyle 86kg. He will face USA's David Morris Taylor in the semis.
Check Out: Tokyo Olympics 2021 Schedule
Deepak Punia defeated Nigeria's Ekerekeme Agiomor in his round 1 bout. He then defeated China's Zushen Lin in his quarterfinal match to march into the semis.
He is now a win away from assuring himself a medal at the Summer Games. He also won a silver at the 2019 World Championships.
Punia's impressive showing at international events has been credited to his Belarusian coach Murad Gaidarov.
In October 2019, the Wrestling Federation of India appointed Murad Gaidarov to train Deepak Punia for 'Mission Tokyo 2020'.
Ever since he started training under Gaidarov, there has been a considerable improvement in Deepak's performance. Under Gaidarov's guidance, he has claimed a silver and two bronze at the Asian Championships.
Murad Gaidarov was an accomplished wrestler himself. He won a medal in the men's freestyle 74kg at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games after Russian wrestler Soslan Tigiev, who had won silver, failed his drug test. Gaidarov's initial bronze was upgraded to silver.
The medal win was a redemption for Murad Gaidarov. At the 2004 Athens Olympics, Gaidarov had protested and subsequently attacked his opponent after his quarterfinal loss against Russia's Buvaisar Saitiev. The incident led to his disqualification from the event.
Apart from the Olympic silver medal, Murad Gaidarov has won silver at the 2003 World Championships. He also has a gold medal from the 2010 World Cup to his name. Gaidarov also dominated the European Championships during his wrestling days, claiming four silver medals and two bronze from the event.
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