Indian wrestler Deepak Punia secures quota for 2020 Tokyo Olympics

India wrestler Deepak Punia on Sunday became the fourth athele from the country to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after booking his place in the semi-finals of the ongoing World Wrestling Championship at Nur Sultan, Kazhakstan on Saturday. 

The junior world champion entered the last-four of the World Wrestling Championships after sweeping past Carlos Mendez of Colombia 7-6 in the quater-final bout of the men's  86-kg freestyle category.

Punia will now lock horns with Stefan Reichmuth of Switzerland for a berth in the summit showdown of the prestigious tournament. 

En route to the semi-finals, Punia had also eased past Tajikistan's Kodirov Bakhodur 6-0 in the pre-quarterfinal bout and defeated Kazhakstan's Adilet Davlumbayev 8-6  in the opening bout. 

Earlier, Vinesh Phogat,  Ravi Kumar Dahiya and Bajrang Punia all secured their berth in the Tokyo Olympics after winning bronze medals in their respective weight categories.