National Wrestling Championship | Sushil Kumar, Sakshi Malik, and Geeta Phogat march into finals
Getty Images
Sushil Kumar, who made a comeback to the mat after 3 years was handed a place in the final of the 74kg freestyle event, at the National Wrestling Championship, after Sachin Dahiya gave him a walkover. Sakshi Malik and Geeta Phogat beat their respective opponents to book a berth in the finals.
Sushil, a two-time Olympic medalist, had outclassed his opponents, in the earlier rounds, with victories in less than two minutes. While Lalmalsawma was ousted, thanks to a technical fall in just 48 seconds, Mukul Mishra put up a fight but could not go past the minute and 45 seconds barrier. However, after Praveen had handed him a walkover in the quarter-finals, Sachin Dahiya did the same in the semis of the 74 kg category.
Another Olympic medallist, Sakshi Malik, won her opening round match in just 39 seconds and it was smooth sailing from then on. She waltzed into the final of the 62kg event with consummate ease. It wasn’t as easy a ride for Geeta who had to come-from-behind in the 59kg category to edge out Sarita Mor 8-4 to book a place in the finals.
