Meenakshi enters Asian Wrestling final; Hansika and Neha win bronze

Meenakshi Goyat staged a late comeback to reach the 53kg final at the Asian Wrestling Championships, while Hansika Lamba and Neha secured bronze medals. India continued its strong run with multiple podium finishes in Bishkek

New Delhi: Two-time national champion Meenakshi Goyat staged a stunning comeback to defeat South Korea’s Seoyoung Park and enter the women’s 53kg final, while Hansika Lamba (55kg) and Neha (59kg) secured bronze medals for India at the Senior Asian Wrestling Championships in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on Thursday.

Meenakshi, who earned her place in the Indian squad by defeating two-time World Championships bronze medallist Antim Panghal, was trailing 0-2 until the closing 30 seconds of her semifinal bout. The 25-year-old turned the contest on its head with a decisive four-point throw and held on to her advantage to book a place in the final.

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The former Asian U-23 champion will now face China’s Jin Zhang, who advanced after defeating Japan’s Moe Kiyooka by fall.

Later, Hansika Lamba and Neha added two more bronze medals to India’s tally, following a strong showing by the men’s Greco-Roman wrestlers, who had already secured two silver and three bronze medals in the opening three days of competition.

In the women’s 55kg bronze medal bout, Hansika showed patience early on against Kyrgyzstan’s Aruuke Kadyrbek Kyzy before taking control in the second round. The 19-year-old executed a successful leg attack to register a takedown and went on to dominate the bout, sealing a 6-1 victory.

Neha then claimed India’s seventh medal of the competition with a commanding 10-4 win over Mongolia’s Bolortuya Khurelkhuu in the women’s 59kg bronze medal playoff.

Meanwhile, Harshita (72kg) and Monika (65kg) will look to secure bronze medals on Friday. Harshita lost her semifinal 2-7 to Japan’s Mahiro Yoshitake, the 2024 Asian Championships gold medallist, and will now face Uzbekistan’s Sevinchoy Polvonova in the bronze medal bout.

In the 65kg category, Monika suffered a quarterfinal defeat to eventual finalist Nana Ikehata of Japan and will now take on South Korea’s Hanbit Lee in the bronze medal match.

Minakshi (57kg) and Mansi (62kg) also remain in contention after advancing to the repechage rounds following losses to finalists in their respective categories. Minakshi will face Kyrgyzstan’s Tancholpon Kybalbekova, while Mansi will take on Mongolia’s Tserenchimed Sukhee on Friday.