Naveen wins gold in 74kg freestyle to extend India's medal streak in wrestling at Commonwealth Games

Naveen increased India's medal count in wrestling at the Commonwealth Games 2022 on Saturday when he won a gold in the men's 74kg freestyle final. Naveen defeated Muhammad Sharif Tahir of Pakistan to notch up his fourth win of the day and ensured his maiden CWG medal. Tahir was Naveen's toughest opponent of the day but the fact that Indian grappler triumphed over his opponent by a dominant 9-1 score line is a testament to how dominant the 19-year-old was.

Tahir immediately went after Naveen's legs but the Indian reversed it and took him down to the mat to earn two points. At the halfway mark, with one take down, Naveen was ahead, and each time he went after Tahir, the Pakistan raised his defence game. But once the second round began, Naveen tackled Tahir down and took his lead to 9-0 with three rolls. It seemed as if another win by technical superiority was up for grabs for Naveen but he would more than settle for a win on points.

Naveen began his CWG campaign earlier in the day by registering all his wins via technical superiority. Naveen's first opponent in the 1/8 round was Nigeria’s Obbonna Emmanuel Johan, whom he defeated in just over five minutes by a 13-3 scoreline to reach the quarterfinal.

Next up against him was Hong Yeow Lou of Singapore, and this time Naveen took even less time to warp up the match, defeating his opponent 10-0 in a minute and two seconds. In the semifinal, Naveen squared off against hometown hero Charlie Bowling and although he lasted a little longer, it took Naveen only three minutes and 12 seconds to win 12-1, sealing him a berth in the gold medal match.

Naveen had come to CWG 2022 on the back of a good showing at the 2022 Senior Asian Championship where he won a bronze. He also finished 5th in the recent 2022 Bolat Turlykhanov Cup. He contracted Covid due to which he could not compete in the Olympic qualifiers, but today at the Coventry Arena, the 19-year-old made up for it and made it a CWG debut to remember for himself.

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