Vijay claims bronze in junior world wrestling

NEWDELHI: Indian wrestler Vijay bagged the bronze medal in the 55kg greco-roman category after defeating Cihat Ahmet Liman of Turkey 16-8 in the Junior World Championships in Trnava, Slovakia, on Tuesday.

It was a victory by fall. He beat Kim Doohoon of Korea 3-1 in the quarter-final but lost to Armenia’s Tigran Minasyan 10-0 in the semi-final. In the 60kg greco-roman style, another Indian wrestler, whose name is also Vijay, reached the final with a win over Ali Reza Ayat Ollah Nejati of Iran. Asian champion Sajan Bhanwal also advanced into the finals of 77kg greco-roman with a 4-1 win over Dmytro Gardubei.

CHANU, SATHISH, RAGUL TO MISS WORLD C’SHIP

NEW DELHI: Senior weightlifters including defending champion Mirabai Chanu, Sathish Sivalingam and Venkat Rahul Ragala will miss this year’s World Championship opting to continue their rehabilitation program instead.

The World Championship is one of the ten qualifying events for the 2020 Japan Olympics. India will be fielding its B team in the event scheduled to be held in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan from November 1. “Senior players have not had the time to rest since the Commonwealth Games in April. After the CWG, they were supposed to attend a rehabilitation camp but things didn’t go as per plan,” National coach Vijay Sharma said.

WFI PICKS RITU AFTER PINKI’S REFUSAL

NEWDELHI:MIFFED with the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), grappler Pinki on Tuesday refused to turn up for the World Championship re-trial, paving the way for Ritu Phogat’s selection in the 53kg category.

Pinki, who had a disappointing Asian Games but had earlier won a gold medal at the Yasar Dogu International, had actually booked a place in the 53kg for both Asian Games and World Championship when the trials were held in Lucknow.

U-19 TEAM LOSES TO SERBIA IN FRIENDLY

NEW DELHI: The India U-19 team suffered yet another defeat to hosts Serbia, going down 1-3 in the second match during its exposure tour to Europe to prepare for next year’s U-19 Asian Championship. Coach Floyd Pinto’s boys had earlier lost 0-2 in the first friendly match.

VILLAGE HERO

The Jakarta triumph has transformed the 26-year-old’s life. For all the monetary gains and popularity accrued, Arpinder’s biggest satisfaction is in winning over his villagers.

He hails from Harsha Chhina village in Amritsar district, barely 20 km from the India-pakistan border. Once the news of