Bishkek (Kyrgzstan): India had a commendable start at the Asian Wrestling Championships here with 19-year-old Udit leading the way by clinching the silver medal in the men’s 57kg category.
Abhimanyou (70 kg) and Vicky (97 kg) also contributed to India’s medal tally with bronze medals in their respective weight divisions, to take India’s tally to three medals on Day 1 of the competition.
Udit’s journey to the silver medal match was quite impressive, defeating tough opponents like Ebrahim Mahdi Smanbekov 6-4 in the quarterfinals and the Democratic Republic of Korea’s Kim Kum Hyok 4-3 in the semifinals to enter the gold medal bout against Japan’s Kento Yumiya.
Though Udit narrowly missed out on the gold, his performance is surely a source of pride for India.
Abhimanyou’s journey to the bronze medal was filled with challenges and displays of resilience. He started strong in the quarterfinals, securing a dominant victory against Republic of Korea’s Lee Seungchul with a score of 10-0. However, he faced a tough opponent in the semifinals, Japan’s Yoshinosuke Aoyagi, who also defeated him with a score of 10-0.
Despite the setback in the semifinals, Abhimanyou showcased his determination and fighting spirit in the bronze medal match against Uzbekistan’s Begijon Kuldashev. Despite being initially behind by three points, he staged a comeback and emerged victorious with a narrow margin of 6-5, securing the bronze medal.
Vicky’s journey in the 97kg category was quite eventful. He started strong by defeating Tuerxunbieke Muheite from China with a close score of 9-6. However, he faced a tough challenge in the semifinals against Kazakhstan’s Rizabek Aitmukhan, who secured victory by technical superiority with a score of 13-0.
Despite the setback in the semifinals, Vicky displayed resilience and bounced back strongly in the bronze medal match against Kyrgyzstan’s Andrei Aronov. With a convincing score of 10-1, he secured the bronze medal.
While Rohit and Parvinder Singh couldn’t secure podium finishes, their efforts were commendable, having reached the bronze medal matches in their respective weight categories.
Rohit’s journey to the bronze medal match in the 65kg category was impressive. However, he faced a tough opponent in Japan’s Masanosuke Ono in the bronze medal match. Despite putting up a valiant effort, he was narrowly defeated with a score of 5-3, just missing out on the podium.
On the other hand, Parvinder faced a challenging start in the 79kg category, losing to Japan’s Ryunosuke Kamiya in the qualification round with a score of 3-0. Unfortunately, this loss meant that Parvinder bowed out of the competition early.
Indian wrestlers Akash Dahiya (61kg), Yash Tushir (74kg), Sandeep Mann (86kg), Vinay (92kg) and Anirudh Kumar (125kg) will be in action in the remaining five men’s freestyle weight categories.
With more Indian wrestlers yet to compete in the remaining weight categories, there’s still plenty of potential for India to add to its medal count. It will be exciting to see how the rest of the tournament unfolds for the Indian contingent.
