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At the K.D Jadhav Wrestling Stadium at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex, day one of the men's freestyle wrestling competition brought aggression, strength and character all with a backdrop of loud and very knowledgeable wrestling fans.

As it was a Saturday, the stadium crowd was full from the quarter finals on and deafening when an Indian wrestler would enter the field-of-play. The energy was absolutely electric.

In the 60kg class, Canadian National Champion James Mancini was competing in his first Commonwealth Games. Mancini, wearing the red singlet, competed against Danial Amas from Nigeria. Amas scored the first point and Mancini needed to be quick to avoid the Nigerian wrestler's advances. In the second round the Nigerian again scored the first point, but Mancini came back to tie. Round two ended in a draw. Mancini earned the last point and won the match earning a spot in the semi-final.

In his semi-final match, Mancini met Viorel Etco of Scotland. The Scottish wrestler pawed at Mancini often to distract him and round one ended in a draw. Mancini won the advantage, took a leg hold and drove the Scot from the mat, breaking the tie. The second round also ended in a tie and Mancini again drove Etco from the mat to win the round, guaranteeing himself a place in the gold-medal final.

Mancini met Indian wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt in the final, and the crowd was very clear who they favored. Dutt had advanced to the final on the back of three wins, having competed in one extra round. He decimated Australian Farzad Tarash 13-0 in his event opener, beat South African Marius Zacharias Loots 7-1 in the quarterfinals and then won a tightly contested bout with Englishman Sasha Madyarchyk in the semi-final 12-4.

In his final against Mancini, Dutt received the first two points to the chants of India, India. Mancini came back and scored a point before the end of the first round, but the local wrestler won the round. In the second round Mancini came to the centre of the ring first. Dutt was quick and again got the first point and then drove Mancini from the circle twice in a row with 35 seconds to go. Mancini made a move to drive his competitor and gained a point, but it wasn't enough. Mancini would win the silver, and Yogeshwar Dutt would celebrate from the time the horn sounded.

Mancini looks forward to the next time they meet. "It was surreal with this crowd," said Mancini. "I have never experienced this type of crowd. I am happy they all came to watch. I will work on my tactics and look forward to when we meet again."

Madyarchyk came through the repechage rounds to claim bronze.

Men's Freestyle 60kg
GOLD Yogeshwar Dutt (India)
SILVER James Mancini (Canada)
BRONZE Sasha Madyarchyk (England)