Historic Day for Indian Wrestling at 2025 Senior Asian Championship
Indian Women's Wrestling Team Shines
On March 28, 2025, the third day of the Senior Asian Wrestling Championship in Amman, Jordan, marked a significant milestone for Indian wrestling. The Indian Women's Wrestling Team achieved remarkable success, securing both a gold and a bronze medal, which contributed to a total of five medals for India, including one gold, one silver, and three bronze.
The standout performance came from Manisha in the 62kg category, who earned India's first gold medal of the championship. She showcased her skills by defeating formidable opponents throughout the tournament.
In the qualification round, she triumphed over Kazakhstan's Tynys Dubek with a score of 11-0. In the quarterfinals, she won against Korea's Hanbit Lee by fall. The semifinals saw her face the 2023 Asian Champion, Kalmira Bilimbekova from Kyrgyzstan, whom she defeated 5-1. In a thrilling final, Manisha narrowly defeated North Korea's Ok J. Kim with a score of 8-7, securing the gold medal for India, as reported by the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI).
Antim Panghal, competing in the 53kg category and returning to the international stage after the 2024 Paris Olympics, also made her mark by winning a bronze medal. She started strong, defeating China's Jin Zhang, a silver medalist from the 2024 World Championship, with a score of 10-6 in the quarterfinals. However, she faced a setback in the semifinals, losing to Japan's World Champion Moe Kiyooka 10-0. Antim rebounded in the bronze medal match, achieving a decisive 10-0 victory over DPR Korea's Meng Hsuan Hsieh.
India's current medal tally includes:
- Gold Medal: Manisha (62 kg)
- Silver Medal: Reetika (76 kg)
- Bronze Medals: Antim (53kg), Muskan (59kg), Mansi Lather (68kg), Sunil Kumar (87kg), Nitesh (97kg)
With the Freestyle Wrestling events set to commence tomorrow, the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) is optimistic about further medal prospects and strong performances from the Indian team.