Asian Wrestling C'ships: Nitesh wins bronze medal in Greco-Roman category

Nitesh was the only shining light for India on a rather disappointing day at the Asian Wrestling Championships, as only two wrestlers made it into the medal matches in Amman, Jordan, on Wednesday.

He clinched the bronze medal in the men's 97 Kg Greco Roman category with a win on technical superiority (9-0) against Amanberdi Agamämmedow of Turkmenistan.

First senior Asian medal for Nitesh

Nitesh was also the only Indian wrestler who booked a spot in the semifinal round on the day. He got the better of Ilyas Guchigov of Kazakhstan on the technical superiority to book his place in the semifinal.

He, however, went down to the Paris Olympic champion Mohammad Hadi Saravi of Iran in the semifinal but still ended his campaign on a high note, winning his first Senior Asian medal.

Neeraj lost in bronze medal match

Neeraj (67 Kg) was the second wrestler to compete for the bronze medal on the day. He booked his spot for the medal matches via repechage, despite losing to Razzak Beishekeev of Krgystan in the quarterfinal.

However, he fell short (0-5) of the reigning Asian Games champion Katsuaki Endo of Japan in the bronze medal match, ending his campaign with a fifth-place finish.

On the other hand, three wrestlers - Sumit (60 Kg), Kuldeeep Malik (72 Kg), and Rahul (82 Kg) - had a quarterfinal exit from the competition.

India had only won one medal on the first day of the competition, courtesy of Sunil Kumar (87 Kg). That said, the Indian contingent will be hoping to add more, especially in the freestyle category, which starts Thursday.