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India added three more gold medals to its tally at the Asian Wrestling Championship on Friday as Vinesh Phogat, Anshu Malik and Divya Kakran won their respective weight categories. However, Rio Olympic bronze medalist Sakshi Malik lost to Bolortungalag Zorigt of Mongolia in the 65kg category final.
The best performance from the Indian contingent on Day 2 of the Asian Wrestling Championship was Vinesh’s dominating run to glory in 53kg. One of the six Indians to have qualified for the Tokyo Olympics till now, the 26-year-old didn’t lose a single point on her way to the crown. This was also her first gold in the continental championship.
Vinesh started the day with a technical superiority win over Mongolia’s Otgonjargal Ganbaatar, which was followed by a 12-0 defeat of Taipei’s Meng Hsuan Hsieh. Her semifinal opponent, Hyunyoung Oh from Korea, gave a walkover due to an injury, paving her way into the final.
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In the summit clash, Vinesh was once again up against Hsuan Hsieh, whom she easily defeated 6-0 to take the gold. This was her eighth medal overall from the Asian Wrestling Championship.
Anshu, who recently booked her Tokyo ticket at the same venue, carried the momentum into the continental meet. The 19-year-old was unmatchable in her first two 57kg category bouts, winning both by technical superiority against Uzbekistan’s Sevara Eshmuratova and Kyrguzstan’s Nazira Marsbek Kyzy respectively.
In the third round against Mongolia’s Battsetseg Altantsetseg, Anshu led 9-1 at one point. However, the referee awarded the bout to Anshu by ‘victory by caution’. The Indian defeated Korean Shinhye Lee in the semifinals before overpowering Altantsetseg once again to clinch the yellow metal.
Divya Kakran dominates 72kg at the Asian Wrestling Championship
A champion in 68kg in the 2020 edition, Divya won all three of her matches on the day to assure herself of the top position on the podium in the 72kg category.
In her first two bouts, Divya overcame Tsevegmed Enkhbayar of Mongolia and Kazakh Zhamila Bakbergenova, who in turn, won against the Indian’s final opponent Sujin Park of Korea. Even if Divya had lost to Park in the summit clash, the gold was for her, based on head-to-head results. Eventually, Divya beat Park 5-0 to clinch the Asian Wrestling Championship gold.
Sakshi Malik falters in the Asian Wrestling Championship summit clash
Like the other Indians on the day, 2016 Rio Olympic bronze medallist Sakshi too won her first two bouts by technical superiority. She beat Hsin Ping Pai of Chinese Taipei and Gaukhar Mukatay of Kazakhstan in the first and second rounds respectively.
In the semifinal, Sakshi prevailed over Korean Hanbit Lee. The Indian was leading 3-0 when her opponent decided not to continue the bout due to a knee injury. In the final, Sakshi surrendered against Mongolian Bolortungalag Zorigt when it mattered the most.
