India at Olympics 2021: Seema Bisla crashes out, no repechage after Tunisian wrestler fails in quarterfinals

Indian wrestler Seema Bisla’s Olympic journey ended on Friday after she lost to Tunisia’s Sarra Hamdi at Makuhari Messe Hall in the women’s 50 kg pre-quarterfinal round.

Tunisia's Sarra Hamdi defeated Seema Bisla 3-1 to cruise into the quarterfinals. However, the Tunisian then lost to three-time Olympic medalist Mariya Stadnik, ending Seema Bisla’s repechage hopes.

The 29-year-old Indian started the cagey match on a bad note as she incurred a shot clock for passivity which gave the Tunisian a point going into the second half of the match.

In the second half, Hamdi struck again after pushing the Indian wrestler off the mat to score one more point.

The pin down that sealed the deal! #Wrestling #StrongerTogether | #Tokyo2020 | #UnitedByEmotion | #BestOfTokyo | @BajrangPunia pic.twitter.com/jyuWm9un0Z

— #Tokyo2020 for India (@Tokyo2020hi) August 6, 2021

But soon after her second passivity shot clock of the match, Seema Bisla earned her first point by pushing the Tunisian off the mat.

However, for unknown reasons, the Indian did not look comfortable on the mat. She struggled to catch a breath and in the dying 20 seconds of the bout, her half-hearted attack on the Tunisian failed.

Hamdi countered the attack as the referee gave another point in her favor.

Bajrang Punia has advanced to the semifinals

Bajrang Punia, on the other hand, advanced to the semifinals after two close victories in round one and the quarterfinals of men’s 65kg weight category.

In the first round he defeated Ernazar Akmataliev of Kyrgyzstan 3-3 on criteria. Bajrang Punia scored the highest points in a move to win the bout.

That's the 2️⃣-point move that won @BajrangPunia a place in the quarter-final bout! 👀👇#StrongerTogether | #UnitedByEmotion | #Olympics | #Tokyo2020 | #BestOfTokyo pic.twitter.com/ahS9NFEppx

— #Tokyo2020 for India (@Tokyo2020hi) August 6, 2021

In the quarterfinal against Morteza Cheka Ghiasi of Iran, the Indian wrestler trailed 1-0 for the majority of the bout. However, in the final minute Bajrang Punia capitalized on a mistake by the Iranian and registered a win by pinfall.

Earlier on Thursday, Ravi Dahiya settled for silver after going down against the Russian Olympic Committee's (ROC) Zavur Uguev in the men's 57 kg freestyle category final at the Tokyo Olympics.