New Delhi, April 11 (IANS) The World U-23 champion Sujeet and Abhimanyu registered contrasting victories in their respective men’s freestyle final bouts to help India clinch two gold medals on the penultimate day of the 2026 Senior Asian Wrestling Championships in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on Saturday.
Sujeet, who has been unbeaten so far this year, totally dominated the men’s 65kg freestyle final against Umidjon Jalolov of Uzbekistan to register an 8-1 win and become the first Indian since Bajrang Punia’s 2019 triumph to win the Asian Championships gold medal in this weight category.
Sujeet started slowly in the opening round as Jalolov held his ground and did not allow the Indian to attack. But the 23-year-old Indian was quick off the blocks at the start of the second round and went on to register his fifth victory over the Uzbek wrestler.
A few minutes later, Abhimanyu made it a double celebration for the Indian camp as he fought back from a 0-2 deficit to beat Tulga Tumur Ochir of Mongolia 5-3 in the men’s 70kg freestyle final.
Head Constable Abhimanyu, a 24-year-old wrestler from Hisar, Haryana, of the CISF Central Wrestling Team, brought immense pride to the Force and the nation by clinching the gold medal in the 70 kg freestyle category at the Asian Wrestling Championship held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. The championship was held from 6th to 12th April, 2026, witnessing participation from top wrestlers across Asia.
Sandeep Mann had the chance to complete a hat-trick of gold medals for India, but he went down 1-2 in a closely contested final bout in the men’s 79kg category.
Earlier, Ankush defeated Fuga Sasaki of Japan 8-2 to clinch the men’s 57kg freestyle bronze to take India’s overall medals tally to two gold, four silver, and eight bronze medals.
India will have a shot at two more gold medals on the final day of competition as Paris Olympics bronze medallist Aman (men’s 61kg Freestyle) and Mukul Dahiya (men’s 86kg Freestyle) sealed their final berths.
Aman, who had won the bronze medal in Paris in the 57kg weight category and Asian Championships gold in the same weight category two years ago, is playing in a higher weight category in Bishkek. In the semi-final, Aman displayed his tenacity in a bout that went down to the wire to beat Ahmad Mohammadnezhadjavan of Iran 11-9.
He will now take on North Korea’s Kwang M Kim, who defeated Gulomjon Abdullaev of Uzbekistan by fall in the other semi-finals.
In the 86kg category, Mukul Dahiya conceded six points early in the semi-final bout against Bolat Sakayev of Kazakhstan, but then scored two crucial takedowns to find his momentum and went on to beat his opponent 12-6 and seal the final berth. He will now face Kamran Ghasempour of Iran for the gold medal.
Meanwhile, Dinesh will challenge for the bronze medal in the men’s 125kg freestyle category after he lost the semi-final against Shamil Sharipov of Bahrain by fall.
--IANS
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