Amman, Mar 26: Greco-Roman grappler Sunil Kumar gave India a strong start by winning a bronze medal on the first day of competitions in the 2025 Senior Asian Wrestling Championship, which got underway in Amman, Jordan, on Tuesday.

The competition witnessed intense action on the opening day on Tuesday as bouts in five weight categories of the Greco-Roman style took place, the Wrestling Federation informed in a statement on Tuesday night.

In the men's 87 kg Greco-Roman, Sunil Kumar put up a commendable performance, securing a bronze medal for the country by defeating Chinese wrestler Jiaxin Huang via Victory by Points (5-1) in the bronze medal match.

On his journey to the podium, the 25-year-old Sunil Kumar defeated Tajikistani wrestler Sukhrob AbdulKhaev. Still, he fell short in the semifinals against Iran’s Yasin Ali Yazdi, who eventually finished with a silver medal after losing to Jalgasbay Berdimuratov of Uzbekistan in the final.

In the men's 55kg division, India's Nitin crashed out with a defeat to Yu Choi Ro of North Korea, 9-0 in the qualification round. In the 63kg division, Umesh went down to Sultan Assetuly of Kazakhstan via Victory by Superiority (VSU) after his opponent surged to a 9-0 lead.

In the men's 77kg division, India's Sagar Thakran lost via Victory by Superiority to Amro Abed Alfattah Jamal Sadeh of Jordan in the quarterfinals. The 20-year-old Sagar had scored a victory by fall against Aryan Bin Azman of Singapore in the Qualification round before going down to his 25-year-old opponent from Jordan, who went on to lose to Aram Vardanyan of Uzbekistan in the semifinals.

The remaining five weight categories of Greco-Roman style will be contested on Wednesday, and further results will be updated accordingly.

The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) has picked a strong squad for the Asian Championship after successfully conducting selection trials at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex in New Delhi. World Championship medallists Antim Panghal and Deepak Punia returned to the squad, which includes some strong medal contenders.

The selection trials were overseen by the WFI Selection Committee, including WFI President, Sanjay Kumar Singh, Vice President, Jai Prakash, Olympian, Treasure S.P. Deshwal, and Olympic Medallist Yogeshwar Dutt. The WFI extended invitations to top wrestlers from across the country to participate in the trials, ensuring a highly competitive and transparent selection process.

(IANS)

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