Asian Championships bronze medallist Ashu clinched the 67kg bronze medal for India in the Greco-Roman category on the concluding day of the Zagreb Open Ranking Series in Zagreb on Sunday. (More Sports News)
ꩲThe 23-year-old grappler added a second bronze to India's tally, defeating Lithuania's Adomas Grigaliunas 5-0. Under-23 world champion, freestyle wrestler Aman Sehrawat, had won the men's 57kg bronze on the inaugural day.
🌺Ashu, who had lost Iran's Reza Mahdi Abbasi 9-0 in the qualification round, came back strongly in the repechage bouts, defeating Hungary's Adam Phoilec 8-0 before overcoming Norway's Haavard Joergensen 9-0 to make the bronze-medal round.
❀The Indian had three points in the first period and two in the second as the judges declared a win by decision.
𒐪Another Indian Greco-Roman wrestler Sagar lost his 63kg Repechage round bout to Austria's Aker Schmid Al Obaidi after his quarter-final rival, Iran's Aref Hossein Khoun Mohammadi, entered the final.
🐼In other bouts on Sunday, Birmingham Commonwealth Games silver medallist Samantha Stewart got the better of India's Asian Championships bronze medallist Sushma Shokeen with the Canadian effecting a fall in the the women's 53kg quarter-final.
ℱSushma had beaten France's Tetiana Profatilova and China's Yuhong Zhong in the earlier rounds.
⭕More disappointment was in store for India as 72kg wrestler Reetika could not make it to the semi-finals through the round-robin format, while Kiran (76kg) also failed to advance.
ꦆGreco-Roman wrestlers Manjeet (55kg), Gyanender (60kg), Ankit Gulia (72kg) and Narinder Cheema (97kg) will be in action later on Sunday.
