Asian Wrestling C'ships: Radhika clinch silver; bronze for Shivanee

Radhika clinched the fifth medal for India at the Asian Championships 2024 after winning a silver medal in women's 68 Kg while Shivanee Pawar upset the two-time World Championships silver medallist Dolgorjavyn Otgonjargal of Mongolia to win the bronze medal in women's 50 Kg on Saturday.

Radhika lost the final by technical superiority to two-time world champion Nonoka Ozaki of Japan in the final but confirmed the second silver medal for India. This is also her second Asian medal after a silver medal from the 2022 edition in women's 65 Kg.

Radhika made it to the final after registering two dominating wins in the earlier rounds. She won on technical superiority (12-2) in the quarterfinals against Albina Kairgeldinova of Kazakhstan while pinned the home favourite Gulnura Tashtanbekova in the semis to book a place in the final.

On the other hand, Shivanee Pawar caused a major upset by knocking out reigning Worlds silver medallist Dolgorjavyn Otgonjargal of Mongolia in a very close (9-7) bronze medal bout. She was trailing for the major portion of the match but bounced back with a wto-pointer turnover in the final five seconds to clinch her medal.

On the other hand, Priya Malik (76 Kg) and Pushpa Yadav (59 Kg) finished with a heartbreaking fifth-place finish after losing their respective bronze medal matches. Both the players will be very disappointed with the results as they lost the match after securing the lead.

Priya failed to defend her last year's bronze medal as she lost to defending champion Elmira Syzdykova of Kazakhstan on a pinfall despite leading 4-0 in the first half while Pushpa suffered a 8-11 defeat in a very close battle against Diana Kayumova of Kazakhstan.

India have so far secured five medal at the event after winning three medals in the men's freestyle category. The remaining five Indian women's freestyle wrestlers will be in action on Sunday, aiming to add more medals to the country's tally.