Yogeshwar Dutt powered to a 3-1 win against Anatolie Ilarionovitch Guidea in the qualifying round of the 60kg Freestyle wrestling event at the London Olympics.
Both wrestlers were cautious and measured each other in round 1. It went to the clinch and the Bulgarian won the toss. He made full use of his advantage and lifted the Indian and threw him down to the mat to record the takedown and win the round. 1-0 to Guidea.
Dutt took the lead early on in round 2 to mark the beginning of an awe-inspiring comeback. The Bulgarian was unable to counter the threat Dutt posed and the round comfortably went to the Indian, 2-0.
Round 3 began and it was do or die for the wrestler from Haryana. Out of nowhere, a series of moves occurred and both wrestlers found themselves on the mat. Guidea initiated the challenge but Dutt countered brilliantly to lead 3-2. 40 seconds away from the end of the final round, Yogeshwar won 2 more points to effectively seal the match.
A brilliant fight-back from the Indian wrestler have renewed hopes of an Olympic medal. Dutt is set to face Besik Kudukhov of Russia in the pre-quarters. Can Yogeshwar go all the way? Well, I can think of a billion reasons why he can!