Sunil Kumar will spearhead the Indian challenger as five home team wrestlers will be taking to the mat on the opening day of the Asian Wrestling Championships in New Delhi tomorrow (Tuesday).
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As the competition starts with Greco-Roman bouts, Arjun Durugappa Halakurki (55kg), Sachin Rana (63kg), Sajan Bhanwal (77kg); Sunil Kumar (87kg) and Mehar Singh (130Kg) are all lined up for the opening day action.
All eyes will be on Sunil Kumar, home team’s biggest hope for a Greco-Roman medal. He, however, will have to overcome seasoned warhorse Rustam Assakalov of Uzbekistan.
The Uzbek has won a bronze at the 2019 World Championships in Nur-Sultan. In the Asian Championships, he has bagged gold in 2013 and 2015. Making his Asian Championships debut, Sunil is still fresh from a finals appearance at the 2020 Rome Ranking last month. He would be determined to cross that final hurdle in New Delhi in front of the roaring home team supporters.
“I am not ready to settle for anything less than a gold,” a confident Sunil told WrestlingTV.
Mehar Singh is another debutant. He comes in as a replacement for the 130kg category first-choice grappler Naveen, who sustained a thumb fracture during training. Mehar, graduating from the junior ranks, will have a lot to prove ahead of the Asian Olympic qualifiers. Korea’s Kim Min-Seok is a force to reckon with in the 130 kg category.
Asian Wrestling Champions 2020 Full Schedule, India squad, Where to watch live: All You Need to Know
If gets a bout against the Korean, Mehar will be eager to settle a score. In their only meeting at 2013 Junior Greco-Roman Asian Championships semi-finals, Min-Seok had overmuscled the Indian 11-3.
The hosts along with Japan and Kazakhstan are the favourites for the team honours as China have been denied entry in the tournament in wake of the Coronavirus outbreak. The Ministry of Home Affairs had declined the permission to grant visas to the 40-strong Chinese contingent.
Men’s Greco-Roman:
55kg Arjun Durugappa Halakurki
63kg Sachin Rana
77kg Sajan Bhanwal
87kg Sunil Kumar
130Kg Mehar Singh
CLICK HERE: LIVE Streaming of Asian Wrestling Championships 2020
