Indian wrestlers Akash Dahiya and Anirudh Kumar have advanced to the bronze medal matches at the Asian Championships in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. However, three of their teammates have been eliminated from the tournament.
Dahiya, competing in the non-Olympic 61kg category, started with a narrow 10-8 victory over Uzbekistan’s Sardor Ruzimov. He then defeated Korea’s Sanghyeon Son 7-3 in the quarterfinal. However, Kazakhstan’s Assyl Aitakyn proved too strong for Dahiya in the semifinal, winning by technical superiority. Dahiya will now face Mongolia’s Enkhbold Enkhbat for the bronze medal.
Anirudh Kumar, competing in the 125kg category, began with a 3-0 win over Pakistan’s Zaman Anwar. However, he was outplayed by Iran’s Amir Hossein Abbas Zare in the quarterfinal, losing by technical superiority. Since Zare reached the final, Kumar remains in contention for bronze and will face Bahrain’s Shamil Magomed A Sharipov.
Yash Tushir (74kg), Sandeep Singh Maan (86kg), and Vinay (92kg) were all eliminated from the tournament after losing in their respective categories.
India had won three medals on Thursday through Udit (57kg, silver), Abhimanyou (70kg, bronze), and Vicky (97kg, bronze). The men’s free-style competition will conclude today, while the women’s bouts will begin on Saturday.
