Sumit wins silver in 125kg as India end with 10 medals
NEW DELHI: India’s Sumit Malik claimed silver medal in the men’s 125kg freestyle event on the concluding day of the Asian Wrestling Championship here on Sunday at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Sports Complex.
India finished with 10 medals, including one gold, five silver and four bronze, bettering their tally of nine medals in the last edition of the championship at Bangkok.
Sumit, 24, gave a good account of his skills in the preliminary round but fell short of expectations in the title round against Iran’s Yadollah Mohammed Kazem who won 6-2.
In the initial stage of the contest, the Indian grappler looked like upsetting his rival early. His move, however, could fetch him just two points as the Iranian wriggled out of the tight situation.
Thereafter, the Indian grappler wasn’t able to find a gap to pin his rival down and earn points. On the other hand, the Iranian, who looked more athletic, grew in confidence and began to dominate.
Sumit’s failure to grab the early opportunity cost him dear. His coach, former international and Dronacharya awardee Satyapal Singh admitted the mistake cost him the gold medal.
“He could get only two points but had he managed to earn four, things could have been different. Since Sumit was leading by only 2-1 after that, it allowed his rival to make a comeback,’’ he said.
It was Iran’s third gold medal of the day.
The Asian wrestling powerhouse had also won gold in 61kg and 86kg to stay atop the field and win men’s team title with 71 points. It also won four bronze and a silver in the competition. Japan finished second with 55 points, while Uzbekistan was third with 49 points. India finished at eighth position with 33 points.
The other Indians in the fray on Sunday -- Harphool (61kg), Vinod Kumar Omprakash (70kg) and Somveer (86kg) -- bowed out early.