Rio de Janeiro (Brazil): India’s last hope of securing a medal at the Rio Olympics was crushed after wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt knocked out of the prestigious quadrennial event in the qualification round of the Men’s Freestyle 65kg event here on Sunday.
The 2012 London bronze medallist, who was bidding to clinch his second Olympic medal, bowed out of the tournament after his opening round opponent Ganzorigiin Mandakhnaran of Mongolia was beaten 0-6 against Russia’s Soslan Ramonov in their last-eight contest at Carioca Arena.
According to the Repechage system, Dutt would have got a chance of clinching a bronze medal had Mandakhnaran reached the final of the competition.
Earlier, Yogeshwar Dutt , who was expected to end India’s campaign on high, suffered a crushing 0-3 defeat against Mandakhnaran in the qualification round of the Men’s Freestyle 65kg event.
With his exit, India’s wrestling campaign at Rio Olympics also folded, with only woman wrestler Sakshi Malik managing to claim a bronze for the country.
Dutt, who endured an injury-plagued season last year, earned an Olympic quota berth in Asian Olympic qualifiers held in Astana in February this year. (ANI)