Maharashtra claimed three medals on the opening day of the Second Tata Motors U-23 National Wrestling Championship currently underway in Shirdi, on Friday.
Sikandar Shaikh of Kolhapur came out with a stunning performance as he defeated Sunil 10-6 who represented Haryana in the 92kg weight category.
Sikandar trains at Gandwish Talim in Kolhapur. Bronze medals were conquered by Lovpreet Singh of Punjab and Sunil of Chandigarh.
Suraj Kokate also had a chance to claim gold, but a few mistakes in the end allowed Ravinder of Services to walk away with the yellow metal in the 61kg free style event.
“In the last few minutes, Kokate allowed the Services player to take away the bout, otherwise it was a sure gold for us,” said Kaka Pawar, who is training with Kokate since the beginning of his career at International Sports Centre (Kaka Pawar Talim) in Ambegaon, Katraj.
Another grappler from Kaka Pawar Talim, Abasaheb Atkade earned a bronze medal in the 70kg category. Gold and silver were clinched by Naveen of Haryana and Sumit of Chandigarh while second bronze medal went to Rahul of Delhi.
All the gold medal winners will represent India in the Under-23 World Championships to be held in the Budapest, Hungary from October 28- November 3 this year.
On Saturday, 300 female wrestlers from 28 states will vie for medals in 10 weight categories.
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