Although four other Indian wrestlers won bronze medals on Wednesday, young Antim Panghal finished her first Asian Championships with a silver medal after losing to the powerful Akari Fujinami of Japan in the 53kg championship match.
By winning their bronze medal matches, Anshu Malik (57 kg), Sonam Malik (62 kg), Manisha (65 kg), and Reetika (72 kg) increased India’s medal tally.
Panghal performed well throughout the competition, registering commanding victories to easily advance to the top match.
Nevertheless, Fujinami, the 2021 world champion, ended her winning streak. Since she began playing at the senior level in 2020, Fujinami has hardly lost a match.
The 18-year-old Indian fell to the Japanese wrestler because to his better technical ability while fighting in the weight class of renowned Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat.
The gifted Anshu performed well as she defeated the Mongolian Erdenesuvd Bat Erdene to win the bronze medal in the 57 kg category.
On the other side, Sonam, who had fallen to Orkhon Purevdorj in the quarterfinal, entered the match again after the Mongolian won.
In her bronze-medal match, she defeated China’s Xiaojuan Luo 5-1.
Reetika defeated Svetlana Oknazarova of Uzbekistan by a similar score, while Manisha defeated Kazakhstan’s Albina Kairgeldinova by fall.
Panghal, the first Indian woman wrestler to win the U20 world championship last year, earlier dominated the 53kg category, without giving up a single point on her opponents’ efforts. She defeated Aktenge Keunimjaeva of Uzbekistan 8-1 in her semifinal match, and the only point she dropped was a warning. In a takedown maneuver that she started with a left-leg assault, Panghal joined in. A number of times, the Uzbeki had the Indian in a headlock, but both times, not only Panghal was able to escape with ease. She also used lightning-quick counterattacks to maintain growing her advantage.
Panghal started her campaign with a commanding “win by fall” against Singaporean Hsiao Ping Alvina Lim before defeating China’s Li Deng 6-0 in the semifinal.
Anshu, who finished second at the 2021 global championship and failed to score against Sae Nanjo of Japan, the current U23 world champion, was anticipated to do better in the 57 kg tournament.
Nanjo started off hostile, grabbing Malik’s left leg, but the Indian was able to free himself. Malik was given a time limit for her inaction and was penalized a point for failing to score inside the allotted time. The Japanese had a 1-0 advantage at the conclusion of the scoreless first session.
Nanjo also forfeited a point in the second session for being inactive, but she quickly grabbed Malik’s left leg and violently spun it, causing Malik to grunt in agony and tap his foot on the mat in a request for the Japanese to release the leg.
The harm was done when the referee halted the fight. Anshu’s maneuver was weakened by the injury, and the Japanese won 5-1.
Greco-Roman wrestlers won four of India’s 11 total medals during the tournament.
On Tuesday, Nisha Dahiya (68 kg) took home a silver medal and Priya (76 kg) a bronze.
