Amman: Seasoned Indian wrestler Manisha Bhanwala clinched India’s first gold medal at the Asian Championships since 2021 edition with a close 8-7 win over South Korea’s Ok J Kim while Antim Panghal settled for a bronze here on Friday.
Manisha (62kg) began with an easy technical superiority win over Kazakhstan’s Tynys Dubek and pinned Korea’s Hanbit Lee for another dominating win.The semifinal was no different, as she conceded only one point to eventually win 5-1 against Kalmira Bilimbek Kyzy.
In the title clash, Manisha looked down and out, trailing 2-7 but logged six points in a row to grab her first gold medal at the Asian Championships.
The 20-year-old Panghal, competing in her first international event after the Paris Olympics, beat Chinese Taipei’s Meng H Hsieh, winning by technical superiority without conceding a point. Neha Sharma (57kg), Monika (65kg) and Jyoti Beriwal (72kg) could bowed out early.
