India's gold medal winners at Asian Wrestling Championships: A look back
The Indian contingent have bagged 19 gold medals at the Asian Wrestling Championships so far
It was a matter of pride for the country on Thursday as Sarita Mor emerged as the first Indian woman to clinch two consecutive gold medals in the Asian Wrestling Championships as she defended her women's 59kg title in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
She defeated two-time World Championships bronze medallist Shoovdor Baatarjav of Mongolia 10-7 to claim the top honour. The 25-year-old had also bagged the top podium finish at the Asian Wrestling Championship held in New Delhi, 2020.
It was the 18th gold medal for India at the Asian Wrestling Championships ever since Kartar Singh bagged the first in 1983.
Let us turn back the clock to look at India's previous gold medal winners at the marquee event:
1983
Kartar Singh overpowered Iran's Hesamoddin Jafari in the 100kg category to clinch the first gold for India at the Asian Wrestling Championships in 1983. India had finished on the third spot in the medals tally in that edition with 18 medals to their name.
1987
It was Subhash Verma who bagged a top podium finish for India. He outclassed Hong Chol-ho from North Korea in the 100kg category to win the gold. The Indian contingent, meanwhile, had finished on the fifth spot in the medals tally with 11 medals to their name.
1993
Pappu Yadav overpowered Sim kwon-ho from South Korea in the 48kg men's Greco-Roman category to clinch the gold medal. It was also the only medal for India in that edition.
2008
India's run at Asian Wrestling Championships improved significantly after Yogeshwar Dutt's gold in 2008 edition. He beat Noriyuki Takatsuka of Japan in the 60kg category to bag the top podium finish. India had finished eighth in the medals tally with four medals to their name.
2010
At the 2010 Asian Wrestling Championships, India bagged two gold medals, through Sushil Kumar (66 kg) and Narsingh Yadav (74 kg).
Kumar beat Kim Dai-sung of South Korea to clinch the top podium finish while Yadav beat Saeid Riahi of Iran to bag the gold.
The Indian contingent finished with seven medals to their name.
2012
Yogeshwar Dutt bagged his second gold medal at the Asian Wrestling Championships in 2012. He had beaten Masoud Esmaeilpour of Iran to clinch the top podium finish. India had bagged a total of five medals in that edition to finish joint-sixth with Kyrgyzstan.
2013
It was a double delight for India at the 2013 Asian Wrestling Championships as Amit Kumar Dahiya (55kg) and Amit Kumar Dhankar (66kg) bagged top honours in their respective categories.
Dahiya beat Yang Kyong-il of North Korea to clinch the gold while Dhankar outclassed Ganzorigiin Mandakhnaran to grab the top podium finish.
The Indian contingent, meanwhile, finished at the fifth spot with nine medals.
2017
Bajrang Punia emerged as the lone gold medal winner for India at the 2017 Asian Wrestling Championships. He beat Lee Seung-chul of South Korea in the 65kg category to clinch the top podium finish.
The Indian contingent claimed 10 medals at the event as they finished fifth on the medals tally.
2018
Navjot Kaur bagged the gold medal in the women's 65kg category after he beat Miyu Imai of Japan. It helped the Indian contingent finish at the ninth spot in the medals tally with eight medals to their name.
2019
Bajrang Punia clinched his second gold medal at the Asian Wrestling Championships in 2019. He beat Sayatbek Okassov of Kazakhstan in the final match of 65kg category. The Indian contingent bagged 16 medals in that edition to finish at the eighth spot.
2020
2020 turned out to be a gold medal fest for India as they clinched five. Pinki (55kg), Sarita Mor (59kg), Divya Kakran (68kg), Sunil Kumar (87kg) and Ravi Kumar Dahiya (57kg) excelled through their performances to help the Indian contingent finish third in the medals tally with a total of 20 medals.
Pinki beat Monkhboldyn Dolgoon of Mongolia in the final bout, Mor outclassed Altantsetsegiin Battsetseg of Mongolia, Kakran overcame Naruha Matsuyuki from Japan, Kumar overcame Azat Salidinov of Kyrgyzstan while Dahiya beat Hikmatullo Vohidov of Tajikistan as the Indian contingent recorded their best performance at the Asian Wrestling Championships.
2021
Sarita Mor, as mentioned above, has won India's first gold medal in the ongoing 2021 edition in women's 59kg which saw her become the first Indian woman to win consecutive gold medals at the Asian Wrestling Championships.
Star wrestler Vinesh Phogat has also won gold in the women's 53kg event.
Indian wrestlers to have won more than one gold medal
Apart from Mor, who retained her title in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Yogeshwar Dutt and Bajrang Punia are the two other wrestlers to have clinched the gold medal more than once at the Asian Wrestling Championships.
Dutt clinched the gold medal in 2008 and 2012 while Punia achieved the feat in 2017 and 2019.