Bengaluru, August 5: The wrestling bouts at the ongoing Commonwealth Games (CWG) 2022 in Birmingham had to be stopped briefly and spectators were asked to vacate the hall after a speaker fell from the ceiling, minutes after the first session began.

Only five bouts could be completed when a speaker, used to relay announcement, fell near one of the mat chairmen, raising a safety issue at the Ceventary stadium and arena on the opening day of the wrestling competitions.

The incident happened right after India's Deepak Punia had won his opening 86kg bout, reports PTI news agency.

The gathered fans were asked to vacate and a thorough check was ordered by the organisers, who fixed a restart of the session at 12.45 local time.

"All are safe, they are just rechecking the whole system to avoid any untoward incident," said a coach.

Thought the competition resumed later, it proved to be a major embarrassment for the CWG 2022 organisers.

The CWG 2022 which began on July 28, has entered into its eighth day of competitive action and will conclude on August 10.

Bajrang in quarters

Meanwhile, on the mat, star Indian wrestler Bajrang Punia needed less than two minutes to move to the 65kg quarterfinals as he pinned Naurau's Lowe Bingham in his opening bout,

Bajrang, who has entered the field as the defending champion, measured his rival for about a minute and then put him on the mat from a lock position to finish the bout in a jiffy.

Bingham had no clue what struck him as the wrestler from the island nation was at sea.

Next up for Bajrang, the Olympic bronze medallist, is Jean Guyliane Joris Bandou of Mauritius.

Other Indian male wrestler taking the mat on Friday in the men's freestyle competition is Mohit Grewal (125kg).

In the women's event, Anshu Malik (57kg), Sakshi Malik (62kg) and Divya Kakran (68kg) will present India's challenge.