Indian wrestlers won a gold and two bronze medals in the ongoing 23rd Summer Deaflympics at Samsun in Turkey. Virender Singh clinched the gold in 74kg freestyle event as he beat Chakvetadze S (Georgia) by 18-9 points in the final bout. Ajay Kumar beat Babayan A of Armenia by 10-0 margin in 65kg freestyle to earn a bronze medal.
Sumit Dahiya bagged the other bronze by beating Ghamar Pour (Ireland) by 10-0 points in 97kg freestyle. Diksha Dagar scripted history after winning a silver medal in the women’s individual golf. The 16-year-old got a bye in the quarter-finals and then defeated Germany’s Gonzalez Podbicanin A 9 & 8 in the semi-finals to set up a final clash with USA’s Yost Kaylin.
In the gold medal match, Diksha started well and was 3 up after six holes but Kaylin clinched the next three holes with two birdies to level the score after nine holes. In the play-off, Kaylin emerged winner to clinch the gold, while Diksha settled for the silver.
Lauding the performance of these sportspersons, 2010 Delhi Commonwealth discus throw gold winner Krishna Poonia said that the government should support them. “The government should support these deaf athletes. They should be looked after properly. They also brought laurels to the country. They should be given facilities and incentives on par with the para athletes,” Poonia said.
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