World C’ships: Sumit Malik enters semifinals

The grappler defeats Inkar Yermukambet of Kazakhstan 6-1 in the quarterfinals.

Published : Oct 20, 2018 20:05 IST

Representative Image: Sumit Malik made a sweet comeback, having been knocked out at the preliminary stage of the Championships last year.
Representative Image: Sumit Malik made a sweet comeback, having been knocked out at the preliminary stage of the Championships last year.
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Representative Image: Sumit Malik made a sweet comeback, having been knocked out at the preliminary stage of the Championships last year.

India’s Sumit Malik reached the semifinals of the World Wrestling Championships in Budapest on Saturday.

Malik, the gold medallist at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, overcame Inkar Yermukambet of Kazakhstan 6-1 in the quarterfinals after defeating Japan’s Taiki Yamamoto 4-1 in the pre-quarterfinals of the 125kg category.

It was a sweet comeback for Malik, who had been knocked out at the preliminary stage of the competition last year. Malik had returned empty-handed from the Asian Games in Jakarta this year.

Meanwhile, Sonba Tanaji Gogane was outclassed by reigning European champion Rashidov Gadzhimurad in the men’s freestyle quarterfinals. Gogane made a stupendous start by winning two bouts but was outwitted by Rashidov in the 61kg quarterfinals.

Early lead

Gogane faced a tough opponent; he was up against last year’s World Championship silver medallist and two-time European champion. He started aggressively but Rashidov’s stoic defence meant that the Indian was forced to slow down. The Russian got on board with a take-down and then opened up a 4-0 lead with an expose. It pegged the Indian back. The Russian further consolidated his lead with a leg hold and by the end of period one, he was leading 6-0.

With 40 seconds to go in the bout, Rashidov stunned Gogane by lifting him on his shoulder. The Russian pulled the Indian down for a four-point move, ending the bout in his favour with almost half-a-minute to go.

Gogane had beaten Andrei Bekrenu 4-3 and Lowe Bingham (10-0) in the qualification rounds. It remains to be seen if the Indian gets a repechage round.

Jitender, Pawan bow out

For Jitender, though, who had replaced Sushil Kumar in the Indian squad, it was all over. He lost his pre-quarterfinal bout 6-3 to Slovakia’s Akhsarbek Gulaev in the 74kg category.

Pawan Kumar, too, faded. Contesting the 86kg category, he could not go beyond the qualification round. He losing 6-0 to Ukraine’s Mraz Dzhafarian.

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