Amman, Mar 29 (UNI) India’s Manisha Bhanwala clinched the gold medal in the women’s 62kg weight category, while Antim Panghal settled for a bronze in the 53kg division at the Asian Wrestling Championships 2025 here on Saturday.
Manisha edged past Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s Ok J Kim 8-7 in a thrilling final to secure India’s first women’s freestyle wrestling gold at the continental championship since 2021.
Manisha began her campaign with a dominant victory over Kazakhstan’s Tynys Dubek via technical superiority. She then pinned down the Republic of Korea’s Hanbit Lee in the quarterfinals before overcoming defending champion Kalmira Bilimbek Kyzy of Kyrgyzstan 5-1 in the semifinals.
Despite trailing 2-7 in the final against Ok J Kim, Manisha staged a remarkable comeback to claim victory and improve upon her previous three consecutive bronze medals from 2022 to 2024.
Meanwhile, Antim, making her return to international competition after the Paris 2024 Olympics, secured a bronze medal in the 53kg category. She started her campaign with a 10-6 win over World Championships silver medallist Jin Zhang of the People’s Republic of China but fell to 55kg world champion Moe Kiyooka of Japan in the semifinals via technical superiority.
Antim then defeated Chinese Taipei’s Meng Hsuan Hsieh via technical superiority to bag the bronze. India’s medal tally at the ongoing championships now stands at seven – one gold, one silver, and five bronze.
Reigning U23 world champion Reetika Hooda secured a silver medal in the women’s 76kg category on Thursday. Muskan (59kg), Mansi Lather (68kg), and Greco-Roman wrestlers Nitesh (97kg) and Sunil Kumar (87kg) had earlier won bronze medals.
However, the trio of Neha Sharma (57kg), Monika (65kg), and Jyoti Berwal (72kg) failed to secure podium finishes on the day.
India’s men’s freestyle wrestlers, including Tokyo 2020 Olympian Deepak Punia, are set to compete in the next two days of the championship.
