Indian wrestlers won four medals including a gold and assured one more on Friday at the Dan Kolov-Nikol Petrov tournament in Ruse, Bulgaria. Pooja Dhanda won a gold medal in the 59 kg category while Rio Olympics bronze medallist Sakshi Malik lost her final bout to end the tournament with a silver medal in the 65kg category.
In the men’s freestyle category, Sandeep Tomar lost his final in 61 kg and had to be satisfied with a silver medal. Asian Games gold medallist Bajrang Punia will wrestle in the final of the men’s 65 kg category against Jordan Oliver of USA on Saturday.
Dhanda’s gold medal came after she finished undefeated in the round-robin format of the competition which included a win over her compatriot Sarita Mor. That bout was virtually the only competitive bout of the category. Aisuluu Tynybekova of Kyrgstan did not show up for her matches and Kornelija Zaicevaute of Lithuiana stood no chance against the Indian wrestlers.
In the 65kg category final, Malik fell to Henna Johansson of Sweden after conceding a four-point throw in the first period and two takedowns in the second. She survived a close pin-call at the end of the first period.
It was disappointment for Tomar in the men’s 61 kg final against Nurislam Sanayev of Kazakhstan as he lost 0-10 in just 34 seconds. Tomar tried over the shoulder throw but suffered a takedown before Sanayev performed four leg-laces to end the match.
Three other wrestlers were in action on Friday for India. Punia got the best result as he entered Saturday’s final of 65kg category after winning two bouts on Friday.
Jitender and Vinod Kumar wrestled in the 74 kg but lost their first bout against Jordan Burroughs and Ivan Kusyak respectively.
Jitender, however, was pulled back in the repechage round as Burroughs reached the final. He will wrestle former world champion and current bronze medallist Frank Chamizo of Italy in repechage.
Vinesh Phogat, Seema Bisla and Deepak Punia will open their campaign on Saturday. Phogat and Bisla will wrestle in the 53 kg category while Deepak will take part in the men’s 86 kg category.
