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Ankush settled for silver after being overpowered by the formidable Yui Susaki, but Vikas (72kg) and Nitesh (97kg) won their bronze medal playoffs with ease, while the Greco-Roman wrestlers from India put on their best ever show in a global event by winning three medals at the U-23 World Championship, in Pontevedra, Spain. Ankush had a mammoth task ahead of her as she took on the reigning Olympic and world champion and ultimately proved no match for Susaki as the Japanese defeated the Indian in the women’s 50kg final in under two minutes. pin on Thursday. Susaki made history with this victory when she became the first wrestler to win the ‘Grand Slam’ of wrestling.
She has now won a gold medal in the Olympics and has four world titles: U17, U20, U23 and senior championships.
Vikas and Nitesh added India’s score on Wednesday night, a day after Sajan Bhanwala broke the barrier with the country’s first-ever championship medal when he claimed bronze in the 77kg category.
Vikas defeated Japan’s Daigo Kobayashi 6-0 in the bronze medal fight, while Nitesh defeated Brazil’s Igor Fernando Alves de Queiroz by technical superiority. The result came when only six of the 10 Greco-Roman wrestlers in India were granted visas to travel to Spain for the prestigious championship. Four others did not receive a visa. The embassy refused visas to a total of 21 Indian wrestlers.
Vikas led 1-0 after a point on passivity from his rival. He had a chance to score more points, but defended well from the ground.
promoted
In the lightning-fast second period, Vikas pushed his opponent out of the mat for another point. He made it 4-0 with a takedown on a counterattack and followed that with a gut wrench move to make it 6-0.
Vikas also remained strong in his defense, maintaining his lead in the remaining 100 seconds of the game to ensure he made it to the podium.
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