National Wrestling C’ship: Kadian shines on day two

Satyavrat Kadian’s superb performance against the fancied Mausam Khatri in the title bout of the 97 kg category was the highlight of the second and penultimate day of the National Wrestling Championship at the KD Jadhav Hall here on Wednesday.

Gaurav Sharma (blue) in action against Manjeet (red) from Chhattisgarh during men final for gold medal in the National Wrestling Championship at KD Jadhav Wrestling Stadium in New Delhi on Wednesday.

Satyavrat Kadian’s superb performance against the fancied Mausam Khatri in the title bout of the 97 kg category was the highlight of the second and penultimate day of the National Wrestling Championship at the KD Jadhav Hall here on Wednesday.

Kadian had lost the last four bouts between the two, with the defeat in the Pro Wresting League being the latest. “I had no fear of losing” was how Kadian described his approach against a reputed opponent.

Known to be a defensive wrestler, Kadian did not hold himself back and his aggression from the start carried him past the challenging postures of Khatri. There was little to choose between the two but Kadian’s spirit to dominate helped the Railways wrestler to tame his Services rival.

In another surprise result, Vinod of Services overcame Amit Dhankar of Haryana in the 70 kg final while Sakshi Malik won her bout on expected lines in the final of the women’s 60 kg category.

The medallists:

Men:

Freestyle: 61 kg : Gold: Rahul Aware (Rly); Silver: Pradeep Kumar (Ser); Bronze: Harful (Ser) and Utkarsh Kale (Mah); 70 kg : Gold: Vinod (Ser), Silver: Amit Dhankar (Har), Bronze: Vishal Singh (Pun) and Pankaj Rana (Ser); 97 kg : Gold: Satyavrat Kadian (Rly), Silver: Mausam Khatri (Har), Bronze: Sunil Kumar (ser) and Rubaljit Singh (Pun).

Greco-Roman: 59 kg : Gold: Gaurav Sharma (Ser), Silver: Manjit (Chattis), Bronze: Manoj (Har) and Sandeep (Ben); 71 kg : Gold: Manjeet (Har), Silver: Mohd Rafiq (Kar), Bronze: Aditya Kundu (Pun) and Shri Bhagwan (Har); 130 kg : Gold: Navin (Ser), Silver: Mehar Singh (Har), Bronze: Ravi (Chan) and Ajay Kumar (Ser).

Women:

53 kg: Gold: Vinesh Phogat (Rly), Silver: Mamta Rani (Goa), Bronze: Sheetal (UP) and Seema (Har); 60 kg : Gold: Sakshi Malik (Rly), Silver: Manisha (Har), Bronze: Babita (UP) and Anita (Har); 69 kg: Gold: Navjot Kaur (Rly), Silver: Geetika (Har), Bronze: Rajni (UP) and Pinki (Del).