Daijiworld Media Network - Nagoya
Nagoya, Oct 2: Asian Championships gold medallist freestyle wrestler Sujeet Kalkal stormed into the men’s 65kg final after defeating reigning Olympic champion and home favourite Kotaro Kiyooka of Japan on Friday.
Sujeet fought back from 0-2 down to beat Kiyooka 3-3 on criteria in a thrilling semifinal, producing the biggest victory of his career.
Sujeet will face Abdulmazhid Kudiev of Tajikistan for the gold medal later in the day.
A U23 world champion, Sujeet opened his campaign with a 13-3 technical superiority win over Afghanistan’s Sayed Omar Zazai in the pre-quarterfinals.
Zazai took an early 3-0 lead, but Sujeet settled down and opened his account with a step-out. He then produced a four-pointer, followed by a go-behind and an exposure to lead 9-3 before completing a 13-3 victory.
Sujeet then booked his semifinal place with a 10-0 win over Abbas Ebrahimzadeh. He began with an arm throw before scoring exposure points twice and two go-behinds to complete the technical superiority victory.
Against Kiyooka, the Japanese wrestler scored two quick points to take a 2-0 lead. Sujeet responded with back-to-back scoring moves to move ahead 4-2. Following a review, Sujeet’s total was reduced to three, but he remained in front.
Kiyooka then levelled the bout at 3-3, but Sujeet advanced to the final on criteria as he had executed the higher-scoring move.
In the men’s 125kg freestyle, Ruhal suffered an 3-8 defeat against Kazakhstan’s U20 world champion Yedige Kassimbek in the opening round.
India had a difficult start in women’s wrestling, with Priya Malik and Dipanshi both losing their opening bouts.
Priya lost to world silver medallist Aiperi Medet Kyzy of Kyrgyzstan in the 76kg opening bout. Priya reduced the deficit to 2-1 in the second period, but Medet Kyzy secured a takedown to extend her lead to 4-1. Priya attempted a big throw in the closing stages, but Medet Kyzy landed on top and secured a pin.
Meanwhile, Tokyo Olympics champion and home favourite Yui Susaki made a strong start to her campaign for a first Asian Games gold to add to her four Asian titles, defeating Indian youngster Dipanshi 11-0.
Susaki then needed just 44 seconds to reach the semifinals with a 10-0 technical superiority win over Cambodia’s Samnang Dit. The four-time world champion subsequently defeated Kazakhstan’s Zeinep Bayanova to enter the final.
With Susaki reaching the final, Dipanshi received a repechage opportunity and secured a chance to fight for a bronze medal.
In the repechage, Dipanshi defeated Cambodia’s Samnang Dit 10-0 by technical superiority and will face Zeinep Bayanova of Kazakhstan for the bronze medal.