Hangzhou: Four Indian wrestlers, including talented Antim Panghal, made it to the bronze-medal round with three of them coming through the repechage route at the Asian Games here Thursday.
World championship bronze medallist Antim (53kg), Mansi Ahlawat (57kg) and 130kg Greco-Roman grappler Naveen all made it to the bronze-medal contest after the rivals they had lost to in the earlier rounds secured berths in the finals.
Repechage gives losing wrestlers from the pre-quarterfinal round onwards a shot at the bronze medal if the winning grappler makes it to the title round.
The fourth wrestler, world U-23 silver medallist wrestler Pooja Gehlot, lost her 50kg semifinal to Japan’s Yoshimoto Remina and will fight for bronze against Uzbekistan’s Aktenge Keunimjaev.
Antim lost her quarterfinal to two-time world champion from Japan Akari Fujinami, but in repechage the Indian got a walkover and will now meet Mongolia’s Bolortuya Bat-Ochir.
It will not be easy for Antim to win her maiden Asian Games medal since the Mongolioan is Tokyo Olympics bronze winner.
Mansi was defeated 2-5 by Japan’s Sakurai Tsugumi in last-eight but in repechage she overcame South Korea’s Bark Jeongae to set up a bronze-medal contest with Uzbekistan’s Laylokhon Sobirova, who is a Asian championship bronze medallist
India’s 130kg Greco-Roman grappler Naveen too lost his quarterfinal contest 0-3 to 25-year-old Chinese Meng Lingzhe but in repechage came back strongly to make it a one-sided contest against Loh Timothy Yu of Singapore.
Naveen will take on South Korea’s Kim Minseok for bronze.
Sunil Kumar had won the men’s Greco Roman 87kg bronze on Wednesday.
In another match-up on Thursday, 97kg Greco-Roman wrestler Narinder Cheema bowed out after losing in the quarterfinals to South Korea’s Lee Seyeol 1-3.
Earlier, Pooja, the Birmingham CWG bronze medallist, defeated her Mongolian rival Namuuntsetseg Tsogt-Ochir 5-2 in the quarterfinals in a contest that lasted the distance.
The experienced 27-year-old Mongolian managed to eke out a point in the first period but Pooja, who was laid low by a shoulder injury for close to two years, made a superb recovery to earn five straight points to secure a place int the semifinals before losing.
Antim defeated her Uzbek rival Immaeva Jasmina 11-0 in the pre-quarterfinal but coundn’t get past her two-time world champion Japanese rival Akari in the semis.
The far superior Japanese won the contest by effecting a ‘fall’.
Fujinami was always going to be a tough competitor for Antim and the bout went according to the script with the Japanese closing out the contest with more than a minute left in the first period.
Antim was included in the Indian contingent for the Asian Games after Vinesh Phogat pulled out due to an injury. Antim had won the selection trials and was put on stand-by by the ad-hoc panel running the WFI.
