August 04, (THEWILL) – Nigerian wrestler Ekerekeme Agiomor failed to replicate the medal success of compatriot Blessing Oborududu in the Wrestling events of the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan and fell to Indian grappler Deepak Punia 12-1 at the Men’s Freestyle 86kg.
Instead it was Punia, who is seeded second for the event, who progressed into the quarter-finals on Wednesday, scaling over the three-time African Wrestling Championships medallist on Mat C at the Makuhari Messe Hall A.
It was a relatively comfortable victory for the Indian as he overcame the challenge Agiomor put up with that Technical Superiority result of 12-1. Agiomor never really seemed to give Punia much trouble at any point of their fight. He simply cruised into the quarter-finals and ended Agiomor’s Olympics participation.
It was a cagey match at the beginning with Agiomor and Punia playing to caution but the Indian quickly gathered two early points against the Nigerian’s defense. But, Agiomor claimed a point too before Punia ended the first half on the high note with another two-pointer takedown of Agiomor.
At 4-1 at the start of the second half Agiomor might have fancied his chances but India’s silver medalist at the 2019 World Wrestling Championships, crushed all thoughts of a comeback with his brilliant reading of the Nigerian’s play to break through his defenses and deny Agiomor any room to manoeuvre his moves.
Without his trusted defenses to hold back Punia’s attacks, the 26-year-old Nigerian was thoroughly beaten, conceding no fewer than 8 points in the second period to the Indian. Punia quickly sailed to a 12-1 lead to win by Technical Superiority, with the early 1 point Agiomor got in the first half the only point for him in the entire contest.
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Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
