Sanjeev displayed a series of authoritative performances to claim the Greco-Roman 55kg gold medal in the Federation Cup wrestling tournament at the Maharaja Vibhuti Narain Indoor Stadium here on Friday.
The 23-year-old Delhi boy from Sonipat-based coach Kuldeep Singh’s akhara impressed in every bout before outclassing Manish in the final to win his maiden gold medal at the elite level.
Sanjeev, who bagged a silver and a bronze in National championships at Jaipur and Pune respectively by rival factions earlier this year, went 1-0 up due to Manish’s passivity and utilised his advantageous position in par terre to flip his rival for a 3-0 lead. Another take-down made it 5-0, but Manish injured his left ankle in the process and conceded the bout.
Kolhapur’s Pravin Patil, an Army wrestler who landed a gold at Pune, rallied from 0-2 to beat Sunny Kumar 6-2 in the 63kg title clash. Patil’s take-downs helped him secure victory.
The medallists (Greco-Roman): 55kg: 1. Sanjeev (Del), 2. Manish (Har), 3. Manu Yadav (Chg), Anjit Munda (Jha); 60kg: 1. Chetan (Del), 2. Ajeet Kumar (UP), 3. Mohit Narwal (Har), Abhishek Nishad (Chg); 63kg: 1. Pravin Patil (Mah), 2. Sunny Kumar (Har), 3. Deshraj (Raj), Hariom Puri (MP); 67kg: 1. Govind (Mah), 2. Bholu Dav (UP), 3. Deepak (Del), Himanshu (Har); 72kg: 1. Ajay Dagar (Har), 2. Jagmal Singh (Raj), 3. Anil Ruhil (Chd), Anish Singh (Chg); 77kg: 1. Ravi Kumar (Del), 2. Satender Yadav (Chg), 3. Parmanand Bujammagol (Kar), Chhagan Meena (Raj); 82kg: 1. Hardeep (Har), 2. Amit Gope (Jha), 3. Bhupender (Raj), Praveen Hipparigi (Kar); 87kg: 1. Ajay (Har), 2. Inderjit (Chd), 3. Darshan (Mah), Aditya Bedikyale (Kar); 97kg: 1. Sonu (Har), 2. Vijender (Del), 3. Subham Kumar (Bih), Ritik (Chd); 130kg: 1. Sonu (Del), 2. Yatendra (UP), 3. Mudassir Khan (MP), Ashish (Chd).
