Asian Wrestling C'ships: Divya Kakran leads India's golden charge

Four out of five women grapplers won medals

Divya-kakran-sourced Divya Kakran celebrates after winning her bout at the Asian Wrestling Championships | Sourced image

Indian women grapplers started their campaign on a golden note in the ongoing Asian Wrestling Championships with four out of five women grapplers winning medals. Pinki, Sarita Mor and Divya Kakran won gold medals in the 55kg, 59kg, and 68kg categories respectively. Nirmala Devi had a close fight but missed out on the gold by a narrow margin to settle for a silver medal in the 50kg category.

The gold rush was initiated by Kakran who won all her four bouts against Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Uzbekistan, and Japan in the 68 kg category. Her final bout against Naruha Matsuyuki of Japan was the closest one where she pinned her opponent when the score was 6-4 in her favour. The 68kg category was played in round-robin format as only five wrestlers were in the fray- the field depleted due to the absence of Chinese wrestlers. Divya is only the second Indian woman grappler after Navjot Kaur to win a gold at the Asian Championships. Navjot Kaur won the gold in 2018 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan in the 65kg category.

Divya, the 2018 Commonwealth Games and Asian Games bronze medallist in the women’s freestyle 68kg category, said after the win, “If you have a five-wrestler group, it becomes even tougher. You have to fight everyone and win big. I won 4 bouts within 2 hours. It was tough on my body but the good thing is, I have improved on my range. I made all kinds of attacks—Irani, Kheme, single-leg, double-leg attacks—the moves on which I had spent hours practising."

Nirmala Devi, 2010 Commonwealth Games silver medallist and 11-time senior national champion, was defeated 3-2 by two-time World U-23 champion Miho Igarashi of Japan in a closely fought battle. Nirmala tried making a comeback in the final moments of the bout but missed out narrowly to settle for a silver medal.

In the 55kg category, Pinki defeated Mongolian wrestler Dulguun Bolormaa 2-1 to bag the second gold medal of the day.

In the last gold medal bout of the day, Sarita came out on top in a closely-fought contest against her Mongolian opponent, defeating her 3-2. “I last won silver at the 2017 edition of the Asian Championship. To be able to go one step further is a huge moment and it is the biggest win of my career,” said Sarita.

India now have three gold medals and one silver in the women’s category of the Asian Wrestling Championships 2020. The final day of the women’s competition will see top grapplers fighting it out for the podium finishes in the 53kg, 57kg, 62kg, 65kg, 72kg categories respectively.

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