India's pocket dynamo Bajrang Punia failed to find the spark in men's 65kg freestyle final at the World Wrestling Championships in Budapest Monday, but the ended up becoming the first Indian to win multiple medals at the Worlds.
The 23-year-old, who won gold at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast and the Asian Games in Jakarta, lost to 19-year-old Takuto Otoguro of Japan 9-16 to settle for a silver medal. As a 19-year-old, he won a bronze at the 2013 Worlds at the same venue.
The defeat means that Sushil Kumar still remains the only Indian to win a gold medal at the Worlds. The legendary double Olympic medallist achieved the feat in 2010, in Moscow.
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Competing in his fifth World Championships, Punia started as the favourites thanks to his experience and recent performance, but his young opponent raced into a 5-0 lead.
Despite Punia's fight back and injury concerns, Otoguro retained the lead to take the gold medal.
This was Punia's second defeat this year. He had earlier lost to another, Daichi Takatani at the Asian Championships, a defeat he eventually avenged at the Asian Games.
In the semi-finals, Punia knocked out Alejandro Valdes Tobier of Cuba 4-3, while the Japanese beat pre-tournament favourite Akhmed Chakaev of Russia 15-10.
