Jitender wins silver, Deepak settles for bronze

Vinayak Padmadeo

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Tribune News Service

new delhi, february 23

The Asian Wrestling Championships couldn’t have ended any worse for India. None of the Indian wrestlers, barring Jitender Kumar, made the cut for the final. And there were no gold medal celebrations either which ensured India finished third in the team standings.

Jitender Kumar, who was the sole Indian to make it to the final, lost to the defending champion and the 2019 World Championships bronze medallist Daniyar Kaisanov of Kazakhstan 1-3 in the 74kg final. Jitender knew he was up against a pedigreed wrestler and threw everything against the Kazakh but couldn’t shake his defence. To be fair to the 74kg grappler, he started on an aggressive note in the final unlike his earlier bouts, where he was waiting on the counter.

But he couldn’t find a serious opening where he could have done the damage early in the first period, save for the single push-out point. Trailing 1-2 after the first period, the onus was on Jitender. But another push-out point against his name meant he had to score a two-point takedown to win on criteria points. That move came very late — 27 seconds left on the shot clock but Kaisanov wriggled out of Jitender’s leg-hold to counter him and let the time run out. Still, it was a better performance from Jitender, who lost 2-9 to Kaisanov in the ranking tournament in Rome last month.

“I am feeling bad as I have missed out on winning the gold at home,” Jitender said.

If Jitender’s was a missed opportunity, Rahul Aware’s loss against Kyrgyztsan’s Ulukbek Zholdoshbekov was down to committing silly errors. First he egged chief coach Jagmender Singh to challenge a decision that was not called for. He lost the challenge and conceded a bonus point to trail 0-3. He then cut the deficit to 2-3 with a takedown but then lost the focus.

The shot at the final was practically over when Zholdoshbekov scored a takedown to go up 5-2. Although Aware collected a solitary point to give respectability to the scoreline, he knew the loss was down to his mistakes. Aware recovered well in time to score a 5-3 win over Iran’s Majid Almas Dastan to win the bronze.

Punia disappoints

Haryana’s Deepak Punia, who won the silver at the 2019 World Championships, too failed to carry his form at home. After beating Mongolia’s Gankhuyag Ganbaatar 8-2, Punia came up short against Japan’s Shutaro Yamada in the semifinals and lost 1-4. Interestingly, Yamada, who finished third in the Japanese National Championships, is not in the frame to represent his country at the Tokyo Olympics. But he wrapped up the win here with a takedown with a minute left. Punia returned to beat Issa Abdulsalam Abdulwahhab Al Obaidi of Iraq with technical superiority to claim the bronze medal.

No trials in 74kg category

The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) has changed its decision to call for the trials in the 74kg freestyle category. The decision was taken by WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh immediately after Jitender Kumar (in pic) won his semifinal bout against Mongolia’s Sumiyabazar Zandanbud. Singh said it would be unfair to call for trials after Jitender had ensured the silver medal.