New Delhi: Meenakshi Goyat added the third silver medal to India’s tally in the women’s 53kg category, while three of the five men’s freestyle wrestlers in action on Friday sealed their spots in the gold medal bout of their respective weight category in the 2026 Senior Asian Wrestling Championships in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
Monika (women’s 65kg) and Harshita (women’s 72kg) then signed off with bronze medals to take India’s overall medals tally into double figures – three silver and seven bronze.
India’s sole gold medal hope on Friday rested on Meenakshi, who had fought back from the brink in the semi-finals to reach this far. However, the 25-year-old was not at her best on Friday and went down 10-0 against China’s Jin Zhang.
While Meenakshi’s loss came as a heartbreak for the Indian contingent, Monika and Harshita lifted their spirits with clinical performances to clinch the bronze medals.
Monika defeated Hanbit Lee of South Korea 9-0 to win the bronze in the women’s 65kg category, while Harshita got the better of Sevinchoy Polvonova 5-0 in the women’s 72kg bronze medal bout.
Earlier, India’s men’s freestyle wrestlers showcased their growing stature on the continental stage as U-23 world champion Sujeet (65kg), Abhimanyou (70kg), and Sandeep Mann (79kg) sealed their final berth.
In the 65kg freestyle semi-final, Sujeet defeated Abdulmazhid Kudiev of Tajikistan 7-2. The 23-year-old, winner of two Ranking Series earlier this year, had beaten Kyrgyzstan’s Rustamzhan Kakharov by technical superiority in the quarterfinals. He will now face Umidjon Jalolov of Uzbekistan in a rematch of the U23 world championships final that the Indian had won comfortably.
Abhimanyou then surprised defending champion Ernazar Akmataliev of Kyrgyzstan 6-3 in a late twist to reach the men’s 70kg freestyle final, where he will face Tumur Ochir of Mongolia.
Sandeep Mann will be the third Indian wrestler in the final on Saturday after the 26-year-old displayed total dominance to beat Somonjon Ikromov of Tajikistan 10-0 in the 79kg freestyle semi-final. He will now face Japan’s Keyvan Gharehdaghi in the gold medal bout.
Among the other two men wrestlers in contention on Friday, Vicky will contest for the bronze medal in the 97kg category after he lost his semi-final bout against Amirali Azarpira of Iran 0-2.
In the men’s 57kg freestyle, Ankush will challenge Fuga Sasaki of Japan for the bronze medal after Milad Validazeh, against whom he lost the quarter-finals, reached the final.
(IANS)
