The teenager’s victory in the Asian Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan, on Thursday established his position among the top wrestlers in India. Aman Sehrawat defeated Almaz Smanbekov of Kyrgyzstan 9-4 to win the men’s 57kg freestyle gold.
Aman grabbed the lead after receiving a passivity point and launched an offensive move, but he was defeated by a superb counter from Smanbekov, who took third place in the Asian Championships the previous year. After a superb takedown gave Aman a 3-2 advantage, he attempted to capitalise with an arm bar, but Smanbekov again countered. With a takedown in the first 20 seconds of the second period, the Indian charged out to a 5-2 lead.
Aman Sehrawat in Asian Championships:
Sehrawat is the first Indian to take home the top medal in the senior division; he trains in Delhi’s renowned Chhatrasal stadium.
By defeating Smanbekov to win the freestyle 57kg championship, the U-23 world champion continued the heritage of three-time champion Ravi Dahiya. Prior to defeating China’s Wanhao Zou in the semifinal by a score of 7-4, he defeated Japan’s Rikuto Arai 7-1 in the quarterfinal.
Sehrawat, who earned a bronze medal at the Zagreb Open in February, now has two podium finishes in 2023.
Other wrestlers in Asian Championships:
Deepak Kukna (79 kg) and Deepak Nehra (97 kg), who both lost their respective semifinal matches, will compete for bronze medals while Anuj Kumar (65 kg) and Mulayam Yadav (70 kg) were unable to advance to the medal round.
With Sehrawat’s gold medal, India has now amassed 12 medals in the contest. The women wrestlers took home seven medals, compared to four for the Greco-Roman wrestlers.
Sehrawat won a bronze medal at the Zagreb Open Wrestling Championships earlier in February of this year. In the bronze medal match, the 17-year-old Aman defeated American Zane Raye Rhodes Richards 10-4 on points to place third in the ranking competition.
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