Amman (Jordan), Mar 31 (UNI) Olympian Deepak Punia and Udit clinched silver medals in their respective weight categories as India wrapped up its campaign at the Asian Wrestling Championships 2025 with a total of 10 medals.
Punia, who competed in the men’s freestyle 92kg category, lost to Iran’s Amir Hossein Firouzpour in the final via technical superiority, with a 10-0 scoreline. Firouzpour, a two-time defending champion, dominated the bout to secure the gold. This marked Punia’s fifth medal at the continental championships, including three silvers and two bronzes. Notably, his previous medals came in the 86kg category.
Meanwhile, in the men’s 61kg final, Udit put up a spirited fight but fell short against Japan’s Suda Takara, losing 6-4 to settle for the silver medal.
Punia had earlier displayed commendable performances, overcoming Kyrgyzstan’s Bekzat Rakhimov 12-7 in a grueling quarterfinal encounter before outclassing Japan’s Takashi Ishiguro 8-1 in the semifinals.
Udit secured his place in the final after beating Bekbolot Myrzanzar Uulu of Kyrgyzstan 9-6 and then edging out China’s Wanhao Zou, an Olympian and junior world championships bronze medallist, by a 2-0 margin.
Among other Indian wrestlers in action on the final day, Mukul Dahiya fell short in his bronze medal bout, losing 4-2 to Japan’s Tatsuya Shirai in the men’s 86kg category after going down to Iran’s Abolfazl Yaser Rahmani Firouzjaei in the semifinals.
Dinesh, however, ensured a podium finish in the men’s 125kg category, securing a hard-fought 14-12 win over Turkmenistan’s Zyyamuhammet Saparov to clinch the bronze after losing to Mongolia’s Munkhtur Lkhagvagerel in the semi-finals.
Jaideep, competing in the men’s 74kg division, bowed out in the round of 16 after suffering a defeat against Japan’s Hikaru Takata.
With these results, India concluded the championships with one gold, three silver, and six bronze medals. Manisha Bhanwala won India’s lone gold in the women’s 62kg category, while Antim Panghal secured a bronze in the 53kg weight division.
Reetika Hooda, a U23 world champion, earned silver in the women’s 76kg category, while Muskan (women’s 59kg), Mansi Lather (women’s 68kg), and Greco-Roman wrestlers Nitesh (97kg) and Sunil Kumar (87kg) also contributed to India’s tally with bronze medals.
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