India wrapped up an impressive campaign at the Under-20 Asian Wrestling Championships with a haul of 20 medals, including four gold, seven silver and nine bronze, as the continental event concluded on Sunday.
The Indian contingent delivered consistent performances across all three disciplines, securing top-three finishes in the overall team standings in both Women’s Wrestling and Men’s Freestyle.
The women’s team emerged as one of the standout performers, finishing second with 184 points, narrowly behind champion China (189 points) while comfortably ahead of third-placed Japan (142 points). India also recorded an outstanding 90 per cent podium conversion rate, with nine of its 10 wrestlers winning medals.
In the Men’s Freestyle competition, India finished third with 152 points, behind Kazakhstan (170) and Iran (164).
Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Sanjay Kumar Singh praised the young wrestlers for their performances.
“Winning 20 medals at the continental level proves the immense depth and talent of our junior wrestling pipeline,” Singh said.
“Our women’s team showed exceptional dominance by outclassing a powerhouse like Japan, and our boys put up a tremendous fight in both Freestyle and Greco-Roman against the best in Asia.
“The Federation is completely committed to nurturing these young athletes with the right training and exposure so they can seamlessly transition into champions for India on the senior international stage.”
India’s gold medals in the women’s competition came through Parveen (50kg), Muskan (53kg) and Kajal (76kg). Parveen defeated Uzbekistan’s Shokhista Shonazarova 13-2 in the final, Muskan edged Japan’s Mai Ogawa 6-5, while Kajal blanked Japan’s Mahiru Fujita 5-0 to claim the title.
Manya Rajput (57kg), Savita (62kg) and Manisha (72kg) secured silver medals after finishing runners-up in their respective finals. Kajal (55kg), Komal (59kg) and Mansi Lather (65kg) added bronze medals with commanding victories in the playoff bouts.
In Men’s Freestyle, Sumit Kumar Laxman Bharaskar claimed India’s lone gold medal by defeating Kazakhstan’s Sungkar Seidakhmet 13-7 in the 70kg final. Pushp (61kg), Saurabh Yadav (79kg) and Ronak (125kg) earned silver medals, while Rohit (57kg), Adarsh Yuvraj Patil (74kg) and Lacky (97kg) finished with bronze.
Earlier in the Greco-Roman competition, Akshay Rana won silver in the 97kg category. Neeraj Patel (55kg), Anuj (67kg) and Dheeraj Kumar Malik (67kg) claimed bronze medals to complete India’s tally.
The strong showing continued India’s successful run in age-group wrestling after the country also collected 21 medals at the Under-15 Asian Wrestling Championships held at the same venue.
