"Can't think of winning in the biggest stage"-Fans react as Indian wrestlers have a disappointing day at Asian Games 2023

Indian wrestlers had a disappointing day today at the Asian Games. This was the second day of wrestling at these Asian Games and the first where the freestyle category was contested.

After athletics, wrestling is the sport where India has won the most medals across Asian Games. With this in mind, there is a lot of pressure on grapplers to bring home the medals but they had a lukewarm start to the tournament.

Five Indian wrestlers were in action today, starting with the favorite, Antim Panghal. She took down her opponent from Uzbekistan in style to win 11-0 but a tough draw meant she ended up facing double world champion Japan’s Akari Fujinami in the quarterfinals and lost 6-0. She was then drawn into the repechage rounds, where she managed to win bronze, India’s second wrestling medal of these games.

She was followed by Pooja Gehlot, who won her bouts 10-0 and 5-2 to progress to the semi-finals before losing 10-0. She also progressed to the repechage rounds but failed to add a medal after losing her bout 9-2.

Next up was Mansi Ahlawat, who lost her first bout 2-6. She qualified for the repechage bronze medal bout after beating Korea’s Bark Jeongae 2-0. Like Pooja, she also lost in the bronze medal bout with a final scoreline of 0-2.

Naveen and Narinder Cheema were other wrestlers who had their bouts today. The Greco-Roman wrestlers also fared poorly. Narinder Cheema lost his first bout 3-1, while Naveen also lost but managed to qualify for the repechage bronze medal match. Just like his compatriots, he also lost the bout and failed to bring home a medal.

Indians on the internet were disappointed with these performances, as they expected more from the wrestlers. Here are some of the best reactions:

All eyes on wrestling

Wrestling is a key sport for India, as they look to reach a total medal haul of 100 in these Asian Games. To reach that elusive century medal haul, wrestlers will have to improve going into the business end of the tournament.

Tomorrow is a big day as the likes of Bajrang Punia, Kiran Bishnoi and Sonam Malik will be in action looking to bring home the expected wrestling medals for India.