Asian Wrestling Championships: Indian Greco Roman team wins five bronze medals in Ulaanbaatar, focus now on women’s freestyle event

The Indian Greco Roman wrestlers won two more bronze medals at the Asian Wrestling Championships in Ulaanbaatar on Wednesday to increase the nation's medal tally to five. The Indian wrestlers previously won three bronze medals on Tuesday.

The medal tally is the best since the 2020 edition of the Asian Wrestling Championships, where India won one gold and four bronze medals.

Of the five Indian wrestlers in the fray, Sachin Sahrawat and Harpreet Singh were successful in earning a podium finish on the final day of the Greco Roman competition.

In the thrilling 67 kg Greco Roman playoff bronze medal match, Sahrawat snatched victory in the last 12 seconds of the six-minute contest from Uzbekistan’s Mahmud Bakhshilloev.

Sahrawat enjoyed a narrow 1-0 lead in the opening three minutes against Bakhshilloev. The lead changed hands in the last two minutes with Bakhshilloev taking a 3-2 charge. With time ticking away, the Indian wrestler grabbed a chance to seal the 7-3 win.

While India won their second bronze medal of the day in the 82 kg category through Singh, who defeated Jafar Khan of Qatar, Gyanender lost rather tamely to his Japanese rival Ayata Suzuki 0-11 in the 60 kg playoff bronze medal match.

The Japanese took advantage of Gyanender’s feeble attacks and raced to a 3-0 lead in the opening three minutes and was quick to pile up points as the match progressed.

The women’s freestyle competition will start on Thursday. Olympian Anshu Malik and two-time Asian champion Sarita Mor are the most experienced athletes in the team.

The remaining Indian female wrestlers are making their entries at the senior continental competition for the first time. According to the Indian women’s team coach Jitendra Yadav, the competition will be challenging. Yadav said over the phone from Ulaanbaatar:

“The preparation has gone well. It’s time for the wrestlers to deliver the goods."