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Grapplers assure three more silvers for India

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Press Trust of India Glasgow
Grapplers continued to rule the roost by assuring India of at least three more silver medals by romping into the finals of their respective weight categories on the eighth day of competitions in the 20th Commonwealth Games here today.

Olympic bronze medallist Yogeshwar Dutt (men's 65kg freestyle), Geetika Jhakar (women's 63kg) and Babita Kumari (women's 55kg) made the finals, while Pawan Kumar (men's 86kg) will fight for the bronze medal.

India were placed in the sixth position in the medals standing with a total haul of 41 medals-- 10 gold, 19 silver and 12 bronze.

England were at at the top of the chart with a total of 109 medals followed by Australia (108), Canada (52), Scotland (39) and New Zealand (39).
 

The Indians had a good day on the wrestling mat as Yogeshwar used his trademark 'fitele' (leg-twisting) technique to great effect in all his three bouts of the day in the men's 65kg category.

First, he beat Alex Gladkov of Scotland 4-0 as he rolled over the mat a few times by grabbing both the legs of his opponent to win the bout in style.

Yogeshwar then easily defeated another Scottish wrestler Gareth Jones in the quarterfinals by employing the same technique he had used while winning bronze in London Olympics.

The Indian pressed his hand on Jone's head, positioned himself at the side of his opponent and pinned him down on the mat in a flash. He then clutched both the legs of his opponent before twisting and rolling himself over and over to get the necessary points and end the contest in one minute and 40 seconds.

In the semifinals, Yogeshwar's Sri Lankan opponent Chamara Perera seemed to know the Indian's trademark technique and once during the bout he managed to slip out of the grip of his opponent, who was trying to twist his legs.

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First Published: Jul 31 2014 | 9:03 PM IST

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