Asian Wrestling Championships: Manisha ends gold drought; India’s men’s contingent disappoints
Asian Wrestling Championships: Manisha ends gold drought; India’s men’s contingent disappoints
While Manisha Bhanwala ended a four-year gold medal drought in women’s competitions on Friday night, the Indian male freestyle wrestlers in action on Saturday disappointed at the Asian wrestling championships in Amman, Jordan.
The 28-year-old Manisha, who had claimed three consecutive bronze medals across 62kg and 65kg from 2022 to 2024, defeated North Korea’s Ok J. Kim 8-7 in the final to emerge as the 62kg champion and pick up her fourth medal on the trot.
In the roller-coaster clash, Manisha, who earlier beat Worlds bronze medallist Mansi Ahlawat in the National trials to book her ticket for the continental event, executed three takedowns in the final 70 seconds to erase a five-point deficit and record victory.
In male freestyle competitions, World under-23 champion Chirag (57kg), Sujeet Kalkal (65kg), Vishal Kaliraman (70kg), Chandermohan (79kg) and Jointy Kumar (97kg) exited prior to medal rounds. Sujeet, who began with a win, got injured during his second bout against an eventual finalist, Japan’s Kaisei Tanabe, and withdrew.
