Rahul Aware clinched Gold for India in the 57kg men’s freestyle wrestling in the ongoing 2018 Commonwealth Games, on Thursday. The 26-year-old defeated Canada’s Steven Takahashi 15-7 in the final to make India proud. This was India’s 27th medal at 2018 Games including 13 Gold, 6 Silver and 8 Bronze.
Aware reached the final after beating Pakistan’s Muhammed Bilal 12-8 in the semi-finals. Aware’s semi-final was a thrilling contest as Bilal came up with a spirited performance. The Pakistani attacked right from the start but the Indian pulled off an effective counter-attack to take a 3-0 lead. Bilal continued to attack and managed a takedown which earned him two points.
But the jubilation in the Pakistan camp did not last long as Aware pulled off a takedown before managing an ankle hold and to roll Bilal over several times for a 10-4 lead. Bilal continued to fight and reduced the gap by two points with a single leg hold. Aware bolstered his lead with another two-point move and although Bilal managed to score yet again with around 30 seconds to go, the Indian earned another couple of points in the final few seconds