Wrestling National Championships: Kakran crashes out in qualification round

Divya Kakran, who last competed at the Asian Championship in February last winning gold, was knocked out by eventual silver medalist Rajani.

File Photo of Asian champion Divya Kakran.

Asian champion Divya Kakran’s return to mat after 11 months was over in six minutes as the 22-year old failed to reproduce the form she had hoped for, crashing out in the qualification round itself of the 68kg on Day Two of the 23rd Women’s Wrestling National Championships in Agra on Sunday.

Kakran, who last competed at the Asian Championship in February last winning gold, was knocked out by eventual silver medalist Rajani even as veteran Anita Sheoran, at 36, proved she still had the moves, claiming gold.

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Also winning gold was Nandini Salokhe in the 53kg weight category, which Vinesh Phogat wrestles in. Vinesh, who has already qualified for Tokyo Olympics, is currently training in Hungary. Nandini overpowered Mamta Rani 8-0 in the final.

In the heavier categories, Nisha retained the 65kg, defeating Monika on technical superiority 12-0 while Kiran remained the 76kg champion. 

The results: 53kg: 1. Nandani (Mah), 2. Mamta Rani (Del), 3. P. Bidyarani (Man) and Pooja Jaat (MP) 59kg: 1. 1. Sarita (RSPB), 2. Sanju Devi (Har), 3. Neha (Del) and Anjali (Har) 65kg: 1. Nisha (RSPB), 2. Monika (Raj), 3. Jaspreet Kaur (Pun) and Nikki (RSPB) 68kg: 1. Anita (Har), 2. Rajani (UP), 3. Raunak Gulia (Del) and Ritu Malik (RSPB) 76kg: 1. Kiran (RSPB), 2. Rani (HP), 3. Pooja (Har) and Kajal (Utk)   Team ranking: 1. Haryana (200 pts), 2. RSPB (163 pts), 3. Delhi (119 pts).