Bahrain, Oct 29: India continued its strong show in wrestling at the Youth Asian Games with Jaiveer Singh, Rachana, and Komal Verma adding to the country's medal tally on Wednesday (October 29).
Jaiveer
Singh settled for the silver medal in the boys' 55 kg freestyle category after going down 2-6 to Japan's Yamato Furusawa in a hard-fought final. The Indian grappler had earlier impressed with a commanding 5-0 win over Kazakhstan's Ibrahim Yskakbek in the semifinals.
In the girls' section, Rachana claimed the bronze medal in the 43 kg freestyle event after defeating her Kyrgyzstani opponent by a dominant 11-0 scoreline. Komal Verma too earned a bronze in the 49 kg category, beating China's Mo Xiaoqing. Komal had earlier lost to Japan's Yuu Katsume 0-10 in the semifinals but bounced back in style.
India's hopes for more medals remain alive, with Gaurav Punia set to face Iran's Morteza Haj in the boys' 65 kg freestyle final, and Moni Moni taking on Kyrgyzstan's Sezim Zholdoshebekova in the girls' 57 kg gold medal bout. Moni had stormed into the final after a convincing 8-0 victory over China's Xu Xiaohan.
Meanwhile, Ashvini Vishnoi also advanced to the girls' 69 kg freestyle final after a gritty 3-0 win over Kyrgyzstan's Aiana Asamalikova. She will battle China's Min Zhao for the gold medal.
In badminton, however, Indian players endured a tough day. Vennala Kalagotla bowed out in the girls' singles quarterfinals after losing 19-21, 13-21 to Thailand's Anyapat Phichitpreechasak.
The mixed doubles duo of Bjorn Jaison and Angel Punera also exited in the quarterfinals, going down 21-14, 17-21, 16-21 to Indonesia's Athresia Candani and Raihan Pramod. In the boys' singles, Tankara Talasila and Suryash Rawat both lost to their Chinese opponents in straight games.
With multiple wrestlers still in contention, India's medal hopes at the Youth Asian Games remain bright.
