Asian Wrestling Championships Day 5: Jitender’s gain, Sushil’s loss

Wrestler Jitender Kumar won the silver medal on the Day 6 of the Asian Wrestling Championships on Sunday. Deepak Punia (86 kg) and Rahul Aware (61 kg) also won bronze medals on the last day at KD Jadhav Wrestling Hall, New Delhi.

A few shots from final day of Asian Wrestling Championship.
Jitender's defence was solid but could not attack, settles for silver
Deepak fought just one good fight, his bronze play-off
1 mistake cost Rahul Aware gold, he settled for bronze.#WrestleNewDelhi pic.twitter.com/nhIzJ7NrWR

— Amanpreet Singh (@amanthejourno) February 24, 2020

Jitender was resistant in defence but lacked in attack as he lost to Kazakhstan’s defending champion Daniyar Kaisanov 1-3. “I tried one move towards the end but could not execute it properly, it could have got me the gold. There are improvements in my game and it could be seen. This silver is special. Now I will try harder to get the Olympic quota,” Jitender said. 

#AsianWrestlingChampionships #WrestleNewDelhi

Rahul Aware wins bronze medal with a 5-2 victory over Iran's Majid Almas Dastan in 61kg category pic.twitter.com/WvhjohJ4NN

— Doordarshan Sports (@ddsportschannel) February 23, 2020

Rahul Aware lost to Zholdas Beko, while Deepak Punia lost to Shutaro Yamada in their 61 kg and 86 kg semifinals respectively. Aware then returned with a 4-2 win over Majid Almas Dastan while Punia defeated Issa Abdulsalam Abdulwahhab Al Obaidi on technical superiority to win the bronze medals. 

No Ticket for Sushil Kumar for Tokyo Olympics?

Although he may have lost in the finals, Jitender Kumar’s performances were good enough to convince the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) to send him to the Olympic Qualifiers in Kyrgystan. Sushil Kumar, who missed the event due to injury, might now miss out participating in the Olympics as well.

Sushil, who also grapples in the 75 kg category, will have to wait and watch Jitender’s performances. Finalists in Bishkek will directly qualify for Tokyo. If Jitender does so, the two-time Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar will not be able to go to Tokyo. If Jitender is unable to reach the final, his last chance to qualify will be at the World Qualifying event in April. 

Day 4, Asian Wrestling Championships

News Flash:
Ravi Kumar Dahiya wins GOLD medal (57 kg) in Asian Wrestling Championships; defeats Tajik grappler 10-0 in Final.
Its 5th Gold medal for India in the Championship.
PS: Last year, Ravi had won Bronze medal in World Championships. #WrestleNewDelhi pic.twitter.com/Y0r7UCeiy6

— India_AllSports (@India_AllSports) February 22, 2020

On Saturday, Ravi Kumar Danhiya had won the gold medal beating Tajikistan’s Hikmatullo Vohidov 10-0 to win his first-ever gold medal in the Asian Championships. Bajrang Punia failed to avenge his 2018 World Championship loss against Takuto Otoguro, and settled for the silver. 

Gourav Baliyan was playing in his first-ever Asian Championships and fared well. He lost the 7-5 in the 79 kg final to Kyrgyzstan’s Arsalan Budazhapov. Satyawart Kadiyan also settled with silver after his 10-0 loss to Iran’s Mojtaba Mohammadshafie Goleij in the 97 kg final.

Overall Performance

The Indian team finished third in the overall medal tally as the Asian Wrestling Championships concluded on Sunday (24 February). India finished with a total of 20 medals (5 Gold, 6 Silver, 9 Bronze). 

Indian Winners

Final Positions