Bahrain, Oct 29: India continued its strong show in wrestling at the Youth Asian Games with Jaiveer Singh, Moni, Rachana, and Komal Verma adding to the country's medal tally on Wednesday (October 29).
Moni and Jaiveer Singh led India's impressive charge on the wrestling mat, clinching gold medals in their respective categories at the Exhibition World Bahrain in Manama.
Jaiveer Singh, competing in the boys' 55kg freestyle division, delivered a series of commanding performances en route to the top of the podium. The young grappler began with back-to-back 10-0 technical superiority wins over Sri Lanka's Nimesh Dulanjana and Cambodia's Phann Chan Ou Dom before edging past Iran's Yasin Zarezadeh on criteria in a tense quarter-final.
He then outclassed Kazakhstan's Ibrahim Yskakbek 5-0 in the semis and wrapped up his campaign with a convincing 6-2 win over Japan's Yamato Furusawa in the gold medal bout.
In the girls' 57kg freestyle category, Moni showcased her dominance throughout the tournament. After overpowering China's Xiaohan Xu 8-0 in the semifinals, Moni produced a flawless display in the final, blanking Kyrgyzstan's Sezim Kurmanbekovna Zholdoshbekova 10-0 via technical superiority to clinch the gold.
India narrowly missed out on two more top finishes as Gourav Punia and Ashvini Vishnoi settled for silver medals. Punia, who competed in the boys' 65kg freestyle, put up a strong fight before going down 4-1 to Iran's Morteza Haj Mollamohammadi, a U17 world championships bronze medallist. Ashvini Vishnoi, wrestling in the girls' 69kg category, stepped up a weight class from her usual 65kg division but lost 10-3 to China's Zhao Min in the final.
The day also brought two bronze medals for India. Komal Verma, herself an U17 world bronze medallist, defeated China's Mo Xiaoqing 3-1 to secure a podium finish in the girls' 49kg event. Rachana added another bronze in the 43kg category, dominating her bout against Kyrgyzstan's Aizhan Kylychbekovna Kabylbekova with an emphatic 11-0 win.
With six medals coming on Wednesday alone, India's overall tally at the Asian Youth Games 2025 rose to 33 medals - including six gold, 11 silver, and 16 bronze. Indian wrestlers concluded their campaign with an impressive seven medals in total.
Earlier, Yashita opened India's account in wrestling on Tuesday by clinching gold in the girls' 61kg division, while weightlifter Priteesmita Bhoi and the boys' and girls' kabaddi teams had already topped the podium in their respective events. India sent a 222-member contingent to the Asian Youth Games, which will conclude on Friday.
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