Ravi Kumar Dahiya withdrew from the Bishkek Ranking Series on Sunday after suffering a knee injury during a warm-up session.
Competing in a new category of 61kg, Dahiya’s was scheduled to compete against Kyrgyzstan’s Taiyrbek Zhumashbek Uulu in the Qualification round. It was supposed to be Dahiya’s first competition since he won gold in the 57kg category at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
A member of the Indian coaching staff confirmed Dahiya’s injury and the cause for it, United World Wrestling said in a statement on its website.
In the same category, Pankaj set up a quarterfinal clash against fellow Indian and Asian champion Aman Sehrawat with a confident 8-2 win over Gerogia’s Giorgi Goniashvili. Also clearing the qualification round was Mulayam Yadav in 70kg who comfortably beat Kazakhstan’s Doszhan Asetov 9-4.
India have won four medals so far in the tournament with Manisha winning gold in 65 kg, Reetika with a silver in 72 kg and Sarita Mor securing bronze in the 59 kg category on Saturday. Greco Roman grappler Manjeet had won bronze in the 55kg category on Thursday.