Haryanvi wrestler Hardeep Singh, on Tuesday, lost his Round of 16 encounter against Cenk Ildem of Turkey with a score of 1-2, thus failing to progress to the last eight stages of Men's Greco-Roman 85 kg wrestling competition at the Carioca Arena 2 in Rio de Janeiro.
As soon as the opening 1/8 elimination clash between Artur Aleksanyan of Armenia and Daigoro Timoncini of Italy drew to a close with the former seizing it 5-2, the silver medallist from the 2016 Asian Wrestling Championships stepped out into the centre mat in an effort to end India’s dismal run in the Greco-Roman discipline of wrestling.
The bout started on fairly level terms, with both grapplers holding off each other from gaining an early advantage in this 1/8 elimination match. Although Hardeep was the first one to be warned by the adjudicator, Cenk Ildem conceded the first penalty which provided the Indian with a golden opportunity to collect two points by possibly turning his opponent from the Par terre.
Hardeep failed to capitalise on the opening at the stroke of two minutes as the Turk held strong on the mat throughout the available time window to deny him a single point from the move. In the 3rd minute, the 2016 European Wrestling Championships bronze medallist got awarded for a second offence by Hardeep and looked to find a breakthrough from the second Par terre of the match.
Ildem got his arms around Hardeep’s midriff wasting no time whatsoever, and the 25-year-old Indian should be praised for the way he resisted till the final seconds before getting turned right at the edge of the circle. As the hooter was sounded for the halfway interval with the completion of three minutes, Hardeep Singh trailed his European rival 2-0.
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In the second period, the young Indian looked much more convincing and managed to surprise Cenk on a few occasions, eventually picking up his first point as well. In the 6th and final minute, matters got tantalisingly close with Hardeep desperately seeking a second point till the last second which would ensure his victory and quarter-final berth, but the needful never arrived.
It proved to be the second heartbreak in as many days for Indian wrestling after Ravinder Khatri’s 1st round defeat in the 85 kg category of Greco-Roman wrestling on Monday.
Hardeep has also lost out on a chance to win a bronze medal through the repechage system, as Ildem has failed to garner a top-2 finish – the Turk lost in the semifinal to Artur Aleksanyan of Armenia.
