New Delhi, April 10 – Meenakshi Goyat added India’s third silver medal in the women’s 53kg category, while three of the five men’s freestyle wrestlers who competed on Friday secured their spots in the gold medal bout of their respective weight categories at the 2026 Senior Asian Wrestling Championships in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
Monika (women’s 65kg) and Harshita (women’s 72kg) then won bronze medals, bringing India’s overall medal count to double figures – three silver and seven bronze.
India’s sole gold medal hope on Friday rested on Meenakshi, who had fought her way back from a difficult position in the semi-finals to reach this far. However, the 25-year-old was not at her best on Friday and lost 10-0 to China’s Jin Zhang.
While Meenakshi’s loss was a disappointment for the Indian contingent, Monika and Harshita rallied with strong performances to win the bronze medals.
Monika defeated South Korea’s Hanbit Lee 9-0 to win the bronze in the women’s 65kg category, while Harshita defeated Sevinchoy Polvonova 5-0 in the women’s 72kg bronze medal bout.
Earlier, India’s men’s freestyle wrestlers showcased their growing stature on the continental stage as U-23 world champion Sujeet (65kg), Abhimanyou (70kg), and Sandeep Mann (79kg) secured their final berths.
In the 65kg freestyle semi-final, Sujeet defeated Tajikistan’s Abdulmazhid Kudiev 7-2. The 23-year-old, who had won two Ranking Series earlier this year, had also beaten Kyrgyzstan’s Rustamzhan Kakharov in the quarterfinals. He will now face Uzbekistan’s Umidjon Jalolov in a rematch of the U23 world championships final, which India had won comfortably.
Abhimanyou then surprised defending champion Ernazar Akmataliev of Kyrgyzstan 6-3 in a late twist to reach the men’s 70kg freestyle final, where he will face Mongolia’s Tumur Ochir.
Sandeep Mann will be the third Indian wrestler in the final on Saturday after the 26-year-old displayed total dominance to beat Tajikistan’s Somonjon Ikromov 10-0 in the 79kg freestyle semi-final. He will now face Japan’s Keyvan Gharehdaghi in the gold medal bout.
Among the other two men wrestlers in contention on Friday, Vicky will compete for the bronze medal in the 97kg category after he lost his semi-final bout against Iran’s Amirali Azarpira 0-2.
In the men’s 57kg freestyle, Ankush will challenge Japan’s Fuga Sasaki for the bronze medal after Milad Validazeh, against whom he lost the quarter-finals, reached the final.
