World championships silver medallist Deepak Punia lost to Iranian superstar and World and Olympic champion Hassan Yazdani in the 86kg freestyle summit clash at the Asian wrestling championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on Sunday.
In his long-awaited meeting with Yazdani, Deepak lost 10-0 in two minutes, 53 seconds of the first period.
The two were set to meet in the World championships final in Nur-Sultan in 2019, but a left-ankle injury forced the Indian to pull out and take the second spot.
Twenty-one-year-old Deepak — also a World junior champion in 2019 — beat Uzbek Isa Shapier 9-2 and Bokhodur Kodirov of Tajikistan 4-3 to book a place in the semifinals. The Indian then managed a narrow 2-0 victory over Korean Gwanuk Kim to make it to the final.
Sanjeet (92kg) secured a medal, a bronze, on the concluding day. India finished with an overall tally of five gold, three silver and six bronze medals.
