Asian Games: Deepak Punia into SF, Sagar, Manisha, Antim, Aman reach QF

Nagoya: India made a strong start to its wrestling campaign at the Asian Games on Saturday, with Deepak Punia advancing to the men’s freestyle 97kg semifinals while Sagar Jaglan, Antim Panghal, Aman Sehrawat and Manisha Bhanwala booked their places in the quarterfinals in their respective events.

Deepak had a straightforward route through the opening rounds. He began his campaign with a commanding 10-2 victory over China’s Zhou Junpeng in the round of 16, taking a 6-2 lead in the opening period before shutting out his opponent 6-0 in the second to secure the win by technical superiority.

The Indian then progressed to the semifinals without having to wrestle his next bout. Hong Kong China’s Wui Fung Vincent Li forfeited their contest, sending Deepak directly into the last four.

In the men’s freestyle 74kg category, Sagar Jaglan also produced a comfortable opening-round victory, defeating Mongolia’s Tulga Tumur-Ochir 8-1 in the pre-quarterfinals. He will now face Iran’s Yones Emamichoghaei in the quarterfinals for a place in the semifinals.

Aman Sehrawat, meanwhile, beat Japan’s Yamato Ogawa in the men's 57kg freestyle 20-9 by technical superiority. He will face Nurdanat Aitanov of Kazakhstan next in the quarterfinals.

India also registered two victories in the women’s events. Antim Panghal, the bronze medallist from the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games, dominated Kazakhstan’s Shugyla Omirbek 9-0 in the women’s 53kg pre-quarterfinal. She will meet Uzbekistan’s Sakibjamal Esbosynova in the quarterfinals.

Manisha, meanwhile, began her women’s 57kg campaign with an 8-0 victory over South Korea’s Kwon Youngjin, winning by fall to move into the quarterfinals.

Her next challenge will be a major one, with Japan’s Akari Fujinami awaiting in the last eight. Fujinami, a dominant force in the 53kg category, has moved up to 57kg for the Asian Games.

With Deepak already through to the semifinals and three other Indian wrestlers progressing to the quarterfinal stage, India has four wrestlers remaining in contention for medals as the competition moves into the knockout rounds.

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