Asian Wrestling Championship 2017: Sakshi Malik wins silver

There was huge expectation from India’s Rio Olympic Games bronze medallist Sakshi Malik in the final of the women’s 60kg event of the Asian Championship, but she fumbled on the mat against an Olympic champion Risako Kawai, to settle for silver. The Indian grappler though reached the final, didn’t show aggression to take control of the bout, indicating she wasn’t prepared for a tough match. She eventually lost in two minutes 44 seconds by 10-0. The strong Japanese showed her skills to race to 4-0 lead in the opening 90 seconds. With another good move Japanese ended the Indian dream of winning gold. Silver for Vinesh, Divya India’s Vinesh Phogat coming back from a long lay-off from an injury, she had sustained at the Rio Olympic Games, also settled for silver in the 55kg. She lost to Sae Nanjo of Japan 4-6. In the last bout of the day, India’s Divya Kakran also lost to Japanese Sara Dosha 8-0 to win India’s third silver of the day. Earlier, India’s Ritu Phogat won the bronze in the women’s 48kg category without breaking into sweat as her Chinese opponent Yanan Sun gave a walk over. Ritu wasn’t happy as she wanted to fight and win.