Arjun Halakurki, Sunil Kumar bag gold at Greco-Roman National Championship

The 22-year old Arjun Halakurki, returning from a shoulder injury, was participating in only his second senior tournament after the 2020 Asian Championships.

The Greco-Roman event that finished on Sunday completed the three-part national championships conducted by the Wrestling Federation of India (Representative Image).

Arjun Halakurki added the senior national title to his Under-23 gold, winning the 55kg event at the 65th Greco-Roman National Wrestling Championship in Jalandhar.

The two-day event that finished on Sunday completed the three-part national championships – including the Freestyle and Women’s events which were held last month – conducted by the Wrestling Federation of India.

The 22-year old Halakurki from Karnataka, returning from a shoulder injury, was participating in only his second senior tournament after the Asian Championships in February 2020, where he won silver. 

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Asian Championship gold medallist Sunil Kumar, meanwhile, continued his winning form and reiterated his dominance on the mat, reclaiming top spot in the 87kg.

Also winning gold was Gurpreet Singh in the 77kg after missing out on the Individual World Cup last year due to a positive Covid-19 test. The Punjab-based wrestler marched into the final without conceding a point.

In the 82kg, Harpreet Singh continued Punjab’s good run in Greco-Roman with his seventh gold, defeating Sanjeet in just 48 seconds in the final. The winners get a chance to participate in the Matteo Pellicone Rome Rankings series next month.

THE RESULTS: 55kg - 1. Arjun Halakurki (SSCB), 2. Vijay (SSCB), 3. Arshad (UP) and Shrikant (Har); 60kg - 1. Manish (RSPB), Sunny Jadhav (MP), 3. Gyanendra (SSCB) and Sachin Rana (RSPB); 63kg - 1. Neeraj (Del), 2. Govind (Mah), 3. M. Taibanganba (SSCB) and Ranjeet (SSCB); 67kg - 1. Gaurav (UP), 2. Surajmal (SSCB), 3. Sachin (SSCB) and Deepak (RSPB); 72kg - 1. Kuldeep Malik (RSPB), 2. Sameer (Mah), 3. Amit (RSPB) and Vikas (Har); 77kg - 1. Gurpreet Singh (Pun), 2. Mohd. Rafeeq Holi (SSCB), 3. Sajan (RSPB) and Manjeet (SSCB); 82kg - 1. Harpreet Singh (Pun), 2. Sanjeet (SSCB), 3. Atul (RSPB) and Rohit Dahiya (Har); 87kg - 1. Sunil Kumar (RSPB), 2. Prabhpal Singh (Pun), 3. Amit (RSPB) and Ravinder Khatri (SSCB); 97kg - 1. Deepanshu (SSCB), 2. Ravi (RSPB), 3. Hardeep (RSPB) and Narender Cheema (Pun); 130kg - 1. Naveen (SSCB), 2. Ravi (Del), 3. Sonu (SSCB) and Aawesh (Har). TEAMS: 1. SSCB (190 pts), 2. RSPB (170), 3. Punjab (111).