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Indian women wrestlers looked dominant in the ongoing Asian Wrestling Qualifiers 2024, underway at the Bishkek Arena in Kyrgyzstan. Vinesh Phogat, who was given a comparatively easy draw, demolished her opponents. Phogat subdued her Korean rival and grabbed Miran Cheon for about 30 seconds to finish with a win.
On the other hand, Anshu Malik and U23 World Champion Reetika too made it to the semifinals. While the 2012 World Championship silver medalist Anshu Malik got a direct entry into the quarterfinals, she finished on top of Kyrgyzstan’s Kalmira Bilimbekova by technical superiority. Reetika (76kg) too outclassed Eunju Hwang and Mongolia’s Davaanasan Enkh Amar by technical superiority.
The four Indian wrestlers, Vinesh Phogat, Anshu Malik, Mansi and Reetika will next take on their opponents in the evening session on Saturday, April 20 from 5:30 pm IST. While Phogat will take on Kazakhstan’s Laura Ganikyzy in 50kg bout, Anshi Malik will take on Uzbekistan’s Laylokhon Sobirova (57kg).
No Olympic quota for India in men’s freestyle
India’s Aman Sehrawat, who was the sole representation in the men’s 57kg, lost to Uzbekistan’s Abdullaev in the semifinal at the Bishkek Arena on Friday. With his loss, the Indian wrestler ended his Paris Olympics hopes in the men’s freestyle category at the Asian Olympic Qualifiers. Aman Sehrawat reached the final after two dominating technical superiority wins over Kazakhstan and South Korean wrestlers in the earlier rounds. But despite a loss, the Indian wrestlers will have a second chance of winning a quota for Paris 2024 at the World Qualifiers in Turkey.
Earlier, Tokyo Olympian Deepak Punia along with Sujeet Kalkal were disqualified after they failed to reach the arena on time. The two Indian wrestlers were stranded at the Dubai International Airport on Tuesday due to uncertain rains and floods.