Wrestler Aman Sehrawat wins silver at Budapest Ranking Series

Indian wrestler Aman Sehrawat won the silver medal in the 57kg freestyle category at the Budapest Ranking Series after losing to Rei Higuchi of Japan in the final on Thursday.

The youngster from India lost 1-11 against Higuchi who is a World Championships medalist.

Earlier in the day, Aman started the day by defeating Robert Dingashivili of Georgia in the quarterfinal of the tournament.

In the semi-final, Aman dominated the Russian-Belarusian Aryan Tsiutryn and won 14-4 to set up his final clash with the much-hyped Rei Higuchi of Japan.

However, Rei Higuchi dominated Aman in the final and won the gold medal with a comprehensive 11-1 win.

Earlier, Rei almost suffered a setback in the semifinal when Azerbaijan wrestler Aliabbas Rzazade used a high chest wrap to lead 8-0. But Higuchi managed to defend the last turn. He scored a takedown and used a gut wrench to finish the bout 18-8 inside the first period.

Aman Sehrawat is the only Indian male wrestler to qualify for the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics. The motive to play in the tournament is for Aman to improve his ranking and the improved ranking will help him get a better draw at the Olympics.

Olympic-bound Indian women wrestlers Vinesh Phogat, Antim Panghal, Anshu Malik, and Reetika will be in action tomorrow in the tournament.