Asian Wrestling Championships 2023: Indian women finished with 2 Silver and 5 Bronze medals

In the Asian Wrestling Championship 2023, the women players of the country have again put medals in India's bag as they finished their journey with 2 silver and 5 bronze. Antim Panghal and Nisha Dahiya have won the silver on the strength of their trickery. While Anshu Malik (57kg), Sonam Malik (62kg), Manisha (65kg), Reetika Hooda (72kg), and Priya Malik (76kg) won bronze medals.

Also Read: Asian Wrestling Championships: Nisha Dahiya and Priya won a silver and a bronze medal in their respective weight divisions

Competing in her first international tournament this year, one of India's budding athletes, Antim Panghal on Wednesday won a silver medal at the Asian Wrestling Championships 2023 in Astana, Kazakhstan. Earlier, the 18-year-old Panghal conceded just one point in her journey to reach the 53kg final. Her opponent in the final was 2021 world champion Akari Fujinami of Japan, who defeated Panghal 10–0 in the final via technical superiority.

While 2021 World Championships silver medalist Anshu Malik won the bronze medal against Mongolia's Erdenesuvd Bat Erdene 10-0 through technical superiority. Earlier, former Asian champion and eventual gold medallist Sae Nanjo thrashed Anshu 5-1 in the semi-finals after notching up wins over Qi Zhang of China and Danielle Sue Ching Lim of Singapore.

At the same time, Tokyo 2020 Olympian Sonam Malik lost her quarterfinal match against 2017 world champion Orkhon Purevdorj of Mongolia. But with Purevdorj progressing to the final, Sonam Malik won the bronze medal through a repechage. She defeated the 2019 Asian champion and current world No. 2 Xiaojuan Luo of China 5-1 in the bronze medal match.

Also Read: Asian Wrestling Championships: Greco-Roman grappler Vikas bagged bronze on the second day

Moreover, Manisha competed in the round-robin format and qualified for the semi-finals in 72kg. But, the Indian wrestler lost to U20 world champion Mahiro Yoshitake of Japan by the fall. After that, she beat Albina Kairgeldinova of Kazakhstan to clinch bronze. Reetika Hooda, meanwhile, defeated Nurzat Nurtaeva of Kyrgyzstan 6-3 in the qualification round but lost to Sumire Niikura of Japan 5-4 in the semi-final. However, Reetika Hooda's biggest victory of the day came against Svetlana Oknazarova of Uzbekistan. The Indian wrestler defeated Oknazarova, a 2018 Youth Olympic Games bronze medallist, 5-1 to claim the bronze.

Asian Wrestling Championships 2023: India's Medal Winners

1. Antim Panghal (53kg)- Silver Medal

2. Nisha Dahiya (68kg)- Silver Medal

3. Priya Malik (76kg)- Bronze Medal

4. Anshu Malik (57kg)- Bronze Medal

5. Sonam Malik (62kg)- Bronze Medal

6. Manisha (65kg)- Bronze Medal

7. Reetika Hooda (72kg)- Bronze Medal