World Championships: Ravinder stuns defending champ Beka Lomtadze before losing in quarters

Oslo (Norway): Indian wrestler Ravinder stunned defending champion Beka Lomtadze before being outclassed by American Daton Duain Fix in the 61kg quarterfinals even as three of his compatriots fizzled out in the qualification rounds of the World Championships, on Saturday. Ravinder, who won a silver medal in the junior world championship in August, gave a good account of himself in his three 61kg bouts. Yash Tunir (74kg), Sandeep Mann (86kg) and Anirudh (125kg) could not get past the qualification rounds in their respective categories to make an early exit from the competition. Ravinder began with a technical superiority win over Korea’s Kim Sunggwon and then returned to the mat to shock 2019 world champion Lomtadze, who ran out of steam as the bout progressed. In the first period, only two push-out points were scored with Ravinder leading on last-point scored criteria. He lost another point for stepping out but grabbed the lead with a take-down move against the Georgian. Lomtadze was struggling to catch his breath and Ravinder took full advantage of his rival’s lack of stamina. He effected a throw to consolidate his lead and earned another point when referee cautioned the Georgian for taking too much time to get on to his feet. However, the super quick American Fix proved too good for Ravinder, who lost his quarterfinal by technical superiority. A flurry of gut-wrench moves followed from Fix, who finished the bout inside two minutes. The 74kg contender Yash was outplayed 0-7 by Russia’s Timur Bizhoev. Yash hardly made any move as he stayed in his shell without attacking his opponent. In the 86kg, national champion Sandeep Mann fought hard before losing 4-5 to Korea’s Kim Gwanuk. In the 125kg, Anirudh bowed out with a 3-9 defeat against Egypt’s Hemida Youssif.