New Delhi: India’s Greco-Roman wrestler Sunil Kumar continued his impressive run on the continental circuit, securing a commendable bronze – his fifth medal overall – in the 87kg weight division in the ongoing Asian Championships in Amman, Jordan.
The 25-year-old vanquished China’s Jiaxin Huang 5-1 to clinch bronze. Sunil, who won bronze at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, garnered his initial point due to Huang’s passivity and subsequently executed two swift gut wrenches to extend his advantage to 5-0 at the end of the first period.
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In the second and final period, Sunil yielded a point on passivity but thwarted his opponent from accumulating any additional points for a potential comeback.
Sunil commenced his campaign with a 10-1 triumph over Tajikistan’s Sukhrob Abdulkhaev in the quarterfinals before losing to Iran’s eventual gold medallist, Yasin Ali Yazdi, by a 3-1 margin. He subsequently overcame Huang for bronze in the repechage round. Sunil’s podium finish opened India’s account in the competition.
Previously, Sunil had secured a silver medal at the 2019 edition of the Asian meet, before ending the country’s 27-year-long wait for a gold medal in Greco-Roman wrestling at the continental event with a victorious finish in 2020. His other two bronzes came in the 2022 and 2023 editions.
Two more Indians are in the fray for a bronze medal — Neeraj (67kg) and Nitesh (97kg) entered the repechage rounds after losing to eventual finalists. While Neeraj will face Japan’s Katusaki Endo for a medal, Nitesh will be up against Turkmenistan’s Amanberdi Agamammedov in his weight division.
The other Greco-Roman wrestlers failed to emulate Sunil’s feat and were eliminated in the initial rounds. While Nitin (55kg), Umesh (63kg), and Prem (130kg) were defeated in their respective qualification rounds, Sagar Thakran (77kg) went down in the quarters.
