Asian Wrestling Championship 2021: Vinesh Phogat, Anshu Malik, and Divya Kakran won the gold medal for the country on Friday. With this, India has a total of seven medals from the women’s event- four gold, a silver, and two bronze.
Star India wrestler Vinesh Phogat bags gold medal at the Asian Championship held at Almaty, Kazakhstan on Friday. At the Asian Wrestling Championship, its the maiden gold for Phogat. In absence of the Chinese and Japanese rivals, the wrestler was unstoppable. She won the medal without losing a single point in the 53 kg category. For the Tokyo Olympics 2021, Vinesh was the 1st Indian wrestler to qualify.
#TOPSAthlete @Phogat_Vinesh wins the 🥇 at the Asian Wrestling Championships for the 1st time after beating #MengHsuanHsieh. She had previously won 3 🥈 and 4 🥉. This is her 3rd gold in 3 events since her return in March.
Many congratulations!!! pic.twitter.com/WXynva11K5— SAIMedia (@Media_SAI) April 16, 2021
Vinesh has an excellent record in Asian Championship. Previously, she has won seven medals in the tournament over the years, including three silver medals before the 2021 edition.
Highlights
Earlier in the day, Vinesh won by technical superiority against her arch-rival, Mongolia’s Otgonjargal Ganbaatar, and Taipei’s Meng Hsuan Hsieh. In the events that followed, Hyunyoung Oh from Korea did not turn up for the semifinal due to an injury.
In the finals, Vinesh was on fire, she moved 6-0 up and finished the bout in the first period itself. Vinesh had previously grabbed the bronze in the Delhi edition of the tournament last year.
Other Impressive Wrestlers
Continuing her brilliant form, Anshu, who booked an Olympic ticket for herself only a few days back at the same venue, reached the finals with ease in the 57kg category.
Another gold for India as #TOPSAthlete #Anshu wins the women’s 57 kg event at the Asian Wrestling Championships after beating Baatsetseg Altantsetseg of Mongolia. She had won a #Tokyo2020 quota last week. pic.twitter.com/ojEb9GLcKW
— SAIMedia (@Media_SAI) April 16, 2021
Earlier, the 19-year-old won the first 2 bouts by technical superiority against Uzbekistan’s Sevara Eshmuratova and Kyrgyzstan’s Nazira Marsbek Kyzy to reach the semifinal.
Her quick moves and techniques made the rivals gasping for breath. In a battle against Mongolia’s Battsetseg Altantsetseg, Anshu was leading the bout with 9-1 when the referee awarded a ‘victory by caution’ to the Indian. The Mongolian was cautioned thrice.
Another Indian, Divya Kakran and Sarita Mor (59 kg) grabbed the yellow metal in the Championship in 72 kg category, while Sakshi Malik (65 kg) had to settle for a silver medal. Seema Bisla (50 kg) and Pooja (76 kg) won the bronze medal.
.@DivyaWrestler wins 🥇 in women’s 72 kg at the Asian Wrestling Championships for her 2nd gold after winning the 68 kg event last year. @sakshimalik wins 🥈 in women’s 65 kg.
Many congratulations!!! pic.twitter.com/TvO8QThoxz— SAIMedia (@Media_SAI) April 16, 2021
Rising star, Sonam Malik (62kg) could not compete due to an injury. She also qualified for the Olympics along with Anshu recently.
India women’s wrestling team won seven medals for the country- four gold, a silver, and two bronze medals in this edition.
