Indian wrestler Pinki secured the coveted gold medal after beating Mongolia’s Dulguun Bolormaa in the women’s 55kg final at the Asian Championships here on Thursday. Sarita added a third gold of the day for India as she defeated Battsetseg Altantsetseg in the 59 kg category. Earlier, Divya Kakran had won the yellow medal in the 68 kg category.
Pinki edged out Bolormaa 2-1 in the summit clash at the KD Jadhav Indoor stadium to become the third Indian woman to win gold in the history of the tournament. She had defeated Uzbekistan’s Shokida Akhmedova by fall in the opening round before losing the next bout against Japan’s Kana Higashikawa. However, Pinki won her semifinal bout against Marina Zuyeva 6-0.
Meanwhile Sarita, competing in her first Asian event since winning a silver in 2017 in 58kg, won her first two bouts by technical superiority against Madina Bakbergenova (Kazkhstan) and Nazira MarsbekKyzy (Kyrgyzstan) before winning 10-3 against Japan’s Yuumi Kon.
Earlier, Divya Kakran became the second Indian woman to win a gold at the Asian Wrestling Championships after a dominant show in which she won all her bouts by fall, including against junior world champion Naruha Matsuyuki.
Navjot Kaur became the first Indian woman to win a gold medal at the Asian Championships when she triumphed in 2018 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, in 65kg.
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