Asian Wrestling Championship: Sarita, Sushma bag bronze

Sara Natami wins bronze in 59kg, while Sushma Shokeen bags bronze in the 55kg category.

REPRESENTATIVE IMAGE: Sushma was defeated by Otgonjargal Ganbaatar 15-5 in Round 5 as the latter went on to win silver.

Women wrestlers Sushma Shokeen and Sarita Mor collected two bronze medals in depleted fields at the Asian wrestling championships in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, on Thursday.

Sushma lost to Japanese Umi Imai 10-0 before defeating Kazakhstan's Altyn Shagayeva 5-0 and Uzbek Sarbinaz Jienbaeva ‘by fall’ to ensure a medal in the 55kg category, in which only five athletes competed. Later, Sushma was beaten by local favourite Otgonjargal Ganbaatar 15-5 but that did not affect her podium finish.

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Two-time defending champion Sarita lost her first two matches against multiple Worlds medallist and last edition’s Asian silver medallist Mongolian Shoovdor Baatarjav 2-1 and Japanese Sara Natami 10-0. However, Sarita, a World championships bronze medallist, came back stronger to get the better of Uzbek Dilfuza Aimbetova 11-0 and Kazakh Diana Kayumova 5-2 to secure the bronze medal among five wrestlers in 59kg.

Manisha (50kg) managed a fourth place among six athletes, while Sonika Hooda (68kg) finished fifth among seven. Sudesh Kumari (76kg) lost all her matches to be sixth and last.