Rio Olympics bronze medallist Sakshi Malik blazed to the final of the Asian Wrestling Champions and assured herself and India of a silver medal in the 60 kg category in New Delhi on Friday.
Competing in her first major tournament after the Olympics and that too in a new weight category, Malik first defeated Uzbekistan’s Nabira Esenbaeva 6-2 in the quarter-finals before clinching 15-3 win over Kazakhstan’s Ayaulym Kassymova in the semi-finals. She will contest her final bout against Japan’s Risako Kawai.
There was more joy for India as Vinesh Phogat also entered the final of the 55 kg category with a 10-0 technical fall victory over Uzbekistan’s Sevara Eshmuratova, and following it up with a win over China’s Zhang Qi in the semi-final.
Divya Kakran also continued the good run for India in the 69 kg category. She beat Chinese Taipei’s Chen-Chi Huang 2-0 in the quarters and then Hyeonyeong Park 12-4 in the semi-final to set up a final clash against Japan’s Sara Dosho.
However, Ritu Phogat lost in the semi-final of the 48 kg category while Pinki lost in the quarter-final of the 53 kg category. Ritu will be in action in the bronze medal bout later in the day while Vinesh, Sakshi and Divya will go for gold.
India’s medal tally at the tournament currently stands at three.
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