Rio de Janeiro:
India’s campaign in the Rio Olympics wrestling event got off to a disappointing start when Ravinder Khatri crashed out of the Greco-Roman 85kg category after suffering a first round loss on Monday.
Khatri failed to clear even one round in his category, going down tamely against Viktor Lorincz of Hungary and bowed out of the competition.
The 24-year-old grappler was thrashed 9-0 on Great Superiority by the Hungarian. Great Superiority indicates a difference of eight technical points in Greco-Roman with the loser without logging any points.
Khatri was lucky to gain an Olympic berth after his rival Kenzheev Zhanarbek of Kyrgyzstan failed a dope test in the Asian Olympic qualifier in Kazakhstan.
This is the first time that two Indian Greco-Roman wrestlers have secured Olympic quotas after the 2004 Athens Games when Mausam Khatri had made the cut.
Khatri’s early elimination has left only compatriot Hardeep Singh (98kg) in the fray in the Greco-Roman category. Hardeep will be seen in action on Tuesday.
