Federation Cup: Akshay Dhere rallies to beat Parmod Kumar in 57kg final

Dhere, a National junior bronze medallist in 2022, pinned Parmod to corner glory in one of the few exciting freestyle contests in an otherwise lacklustre day.

Maharashtra’s Akshay (blue) on the way to win the gold medal match against Parmod Kumar (CHD) in 57kg freestyle category in the Federation Cup wrestling tournament. | Photo Credit: SANDEEP SAXENA/The Hindu

Young wrestler Akshay Dhere rallied to record a brilliant victory in the 57kg final against Parmod Kumar and win his elite maiden title in the Federation Cup at the Maharaja Vibhuti Narain Indoor Stadium here on Wednesday.

Dhere, a National junior bronze medallist in 2022, pinned Parmod to corner glory in one of the few exciting freestyle contests in an otherwise lacklustre day.

Parmod grabbed an early 4-0 lead, but Dhere worked patiently to break his opponent’s resistance to make it 4-4 in the first period.

A swift double-leg attack and leg lace put 21-year-old Armyman from Kolhapur ahead at 8-4. He carried on the momentum to do another takedown and eventually pin Parmod with two minutes left.

In another neck-and-neck fight, National silver medallist Sahil Kundu (61kg) recovered from a 2-4 deficit to beat Amit 17-7 in a high scoring final bout.

Meanwhile, seven of the eight candidates in fray won the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) Athletes Commission elections. They were Sahil, Smitha A.S., Bharti Baghel, Narsingh Yadav, Kushboo Pawar, Nikki and Sweta Dubey. Narsingh was elected the chairman of the athletes’ commission.

The medallists

Men’s freestyle: 57kg: 1. Akshay Dhere (Mah), 2. Parmod Kumar (Chd), 3. Rohit (Har), Janardhan Yadav (UP); 61kg: 1. Sahil Kundu (Har), 2. Amit (Del), 3. Lalit Kaushal (MP), Manoj (Raj); 65kg: 1. Atul (Har), 2. Manish Goswami (Del), 3. Deepanshu (Chd), Sonba Gongane (Mah); 70kg: 1. Shubham (UP), 2. Mahesh Langoti (Kar), 3. Pankaj Kumar (Del), Rohit Prajapati (MP); 74kg: 1. Sunny (Del), 2. Tejveer (UP), 3. Rohan Narayan Ghevodi (Kar), Naveen (Har); 79kg: 1. Sahil Dalal (Har), 2. Mandeep (Raj), 3. Akshay (Mah), Sadashiv Nalavade (Kar); 86kg: 1. Ashish (Del), 2. Gopal Koli (Kar), 3. Partham Dalal (Har), Vijenderpal Singh (Chg); 92kg: 1. Amit Singh (Del), 2. Vishal Kumar (UP), 3. Vijay (Har), Ajay (HP); 97kg: 1. Omkar Chaugule (Mah), 2. Hari (Chd), 3. Aman (Har), Basavaraj Patil (Kar); 125kg: 1. Lakshay (Del), 2. Gurbaj Singh (Pun), 3. Sachin Panwar (Chd), Saket Yadav (Mah).