Yogeshwar grapples his way to an Olympic berth

Star wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt secured an Olympic quota place for India after making the final round of the men's 65kg freestyle event on the second day of the Asian Olympic Qualification in Astana on Friday.

Yogeshwar became the second Indian wrestler after Narsingh Yadav to book a berth for the August 5-August 21 2016 Rio Games.

The 33-year-old qualified for the Games by virtue of reaching the final of the event in Kazakhstan.

En route the final, Yogeshwar put up a dominating show, winning all his three bouts.

Having defeated Kim Ju-song of North Korea in qualification round 8-1, he got the better of Xuan Dinh Nguyen of Vietnam by fall verdict 12-2 in the quarters and then followed it up by beating Lee Seung-Chul of Korea 7-2 in his semi-final bout.

The London Olympics bronze-medallist will clash with Adam Batirov on Saturday for a gold medal finish.

Image: Yogeshwar Dutt

Photograph: Tim Wimborne/Reuters