Olympic Wrestling: Narsingh Yadav crashes to first round defeat

India’s Narsingh Pancham Yadav succumbed to a 3-1 loss in his match against Judah Matthew Gentry of Canada in the men’s 74 kg Freestyle wrestling event at the London Games. Yadav was unlucky to lose as he had made a comeback and led the second round until the Canadian wrestler scored a last-second point to seal the match.

In the first round, Yadav was nowhere near his best. Gentry took advantage of Yadav’s defensive wrestling and recorded the first take down of the match, with the Indian wrestler’s back being clearly exposed to the mat. Gentry succeeded in scoring 3 points because of the effectiveness of his maneuver.

The second round was more competitive as Yadav showed great attacking intent. This proved beneficial for the ‘Railwayman’ as he scored a point and was on his way towards winning the round. Unfortunately, Gentry’s last-second move came as a shocker as he pushed Yadav out of bounds to score a point and tie the round. Since  the score was 1-1 and Gentry was the last man to score a point, the round went in favour of the Canadian.

Fortune favours the brave, sadly for Yadav, there were braver men. However, it isn’t all over for the Indian yet. The great thing about wrestling is its repechage system and if Gentry makes it to the finals of the event, then Yadav will win a second chance. Till then, let’s wait and watch!