Wrestlers Anshu, Gurpreet in final

Rome, January 16

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Anshu Malik reached the final of the 57kg competition at the Rome Ranking series event, assuring at least a silver medal on what has been an impressive senior-level debut for the teenage wrestler. Giving no chance to her American rival Jenna Rose Burkert, the Jind grappler finished the semifinal bout in the first period itself with a flurry of moves that began with a takedown from a left-leg attack. The junior Asian champion then produced gut wrenches in a jiffy, winning on technical superiority. The 18-year-old had downed 2018 World Championships bronze medallist Pooja Dhanda during the trials to claim a place in the Indian team.

Anshu had begun with a win by technical superiority over Spain’s Maria Dlione and followed it up with victories over Linda Morais and Grace Bullen. She will now fight it out with Nigeria’s Odunayo Adekuoroye in the final. While Anshu shone bright, Sonam Malik, who had stunned Rio Olympics bronze medalist Sakshi Malik, came a cropper. The 18-year-old lost her opening 62kg bout by technical superiority to American Macey Ellen Kilty.

In the 68kg category, Divya Kakran will fight for the bronze after losing her semifinal to Feng Zhou of China on technical superiority. In the 76kg class, Kiran was ousted following a defeat in the pre-quarterfinal against Estonba’s Epp Maee.

In the Greco-Roman competition, Sunil Kumar settled for silver in the 87kg class after losing the final 1-2 to Hungary’s Viktor Lorincz. Gurpreet Singh reached the 82kg final with a dominant show. He did not lose a point in the semifinal against American John Walter Stefanowicz, winning 5-0.

Sajan Bhanwal (77kg) is in bronze medal contention and will fight it out with Turkey’s Emrah Kus. Sachin Rana (60kg) and Ashu (67kg) missed out on podium finishes after losing their respective bronze play-offs. — PTI