Hangzhou: Wrestler Sunil Kumar has earned a podium finish in the Men’s Greco-Roman 87kg assuring the first medal for India in the ongoing Asian Games in the discipline. He earned the bronze medal.
Sunil's bout against Kyrgyzstan’s Atabek Azisbekov didn't start well as the Indian wrestler was called for passivity and the opponent was awarded a point. However, Sunil restricted the lead to one point by only defending himself well from the upside-down position in the match. Thus, his watertight defence restricted the opponent to a lead of one point in the initial stages.
A few moments later the Kyrgyz wrestler was also called for passivity and the scores were levelled soon. A bronze medal was at stake and so the contest was turning out into an exciting clash. Atabek managed to push Sunil out of bounds very soon and the scoreline was 3-1 in his favour. However, the Indian wrestler challenged the call and got the referee's decision overturned retracting the scoreline to 1-1. The Indian wrestler soon emerged victorious beating his opponent.
Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, wrote, "INDIA'S QUEST IN WRESTLING BEGINS WITH A BRONZE! Huge congratulations to Sunil Kumar for his impressive performance in the Men's Greco-Roman 87Kg category at the #AsianGames2022, securing a well-deserved bronze. With grit and determination, our #TOPScheme (athlete) held his ground and displayed unwavering confidence on the mat. His victory marks a significant achievement, giving the nation its first medal in Greco-Roman at the #AsianGames since 2010! Great effort from Sunil, setting a strong start for our wrestling contingent!"
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