Asiad: Antim Panghal gets India's second medal in wrestling

Pamghal won her first point against the Olympic medallist through passivity and then earned two points for a takedown in the dying seconds of the first round.

The 19-year-old Indian star, who obtained an Olympic quota for India with a bronze medal at the world championships last month, displayed strong defensive skills in the second round to win the bout 3-1.

Panghal started her campaign with a win over Jasmina Immaeva of Uzbekistan on technical superiority. Jasmina Immaeva is a three-time Asian Championships medallist.

However, Panghal ran into the formidable Akari Fujinami in the quarterfinals. Though just 19, the Japanese wrestler is a two-time senior world champion and has won gold medals in each tournament she has competed in her professional career.

Akari Fujinami defeated Antim Panghal via fall within two minutes but opened the door for the Indian wrestler for bronze by making it to the final.

Panghal received a walkover in the repechage round and then defeated Bat-Ochir Bolortuya for her first Asian Games medal on her debut.

Last year, Panghal became the first Indian woman to win a gold medal at the U20 World Championships and went on to defend that title in 2023, Olympics.com reported. She also won a silver medal in the Asian Championships earlier this year after losing to Akari Fujinami in the final.

The other four Indian wrestlers competing on the day could not win medals.

Greco-Roman wrestler Narinder Cheema, competing in the men’s 97kg, lost 3-1 to the Republic of Korea’s Seyeol Lee and did not make it to the repechage rounds. In the 130kg, Naveen made it to the bronze medal bout through repechage but lost to South Korea’s Minseok Kim 5-1.

In women’s wrestling, Pooja Gehlot (50kg) had a decent start with two wins in a row but lost to Japan’s Remina Yoshimoto via technical superiority in the semi-final. She then suffered a 9-2 defeat to Uzbekistan’s Aktenge Keunimjaeva to miss out on bronze.

Mansi Ahlawat (57kg) also made it to the bronze medal bout via repechage but went down to Laylokhon Sobirova via fall.

India have sent an 18-member team for wrestling at the Asian Games 2023. Olympic bronze medallist Bajrang Punia will compete in the men’s 65kg freestyle division.