Asian Games: Indian wrestlers bag double bronze

Incheon: Indian wrestlers started their 17th Asian Games campaign on a positive note with Vinesh Phogat and Geetika Jakhar clinching the bronze medals in women's freestyle category at the Dowon Gymnasium here Saturday.

The 2014 Commonwealth Games gold medallist Vinesh, 20, gave India the first medal from the sport at Incheon by winning her bronze medal match in the 48kg category and after a short while veteran Geetika made it a double as she picked up her second Asian Games medal by winning her play-off match in the 63kg category. Geetika, who won the silver in the 2014 Glasgow Games, had also won the silver in the 2006 Asian Games.

But there was disappointment in store in the men's section as Amit Kumar and Parveen Rana lost their respective pre-quarterfinal bouts.

Vinesh won the bronze medal defeating Mongolia's Narangerel Erdenesukh 4-0. The match lasted two minutes and 31 seconds. She reached the semi-finals after defeating North Korea's Yongmi Pak 3-1 in the pre-quarterfinals and Uzbekistan's Dauletbike Yakhshimuratova 5-0 in the last eight round. Japan's Eri Tosaka bagged the gold medal beating China's Yannan Sun 3-1 in the title bout.

Later in the day, Geetika emulated Vinesh's feat, defeating Vietnam's Thi Hien Ly 5-0 in the freestyle 63kg category to confirm the second bronze medal in the discipline. She took merely 55 seconds to claim the medal.

Geetika had won her pre-quarterfinal match against Kazakhstan's Yekaterina Larionova 3-1 and last eight match against Thailand's Jaratrawee Autnun 5-0. Japan's Rio Watari secured gold, downing China's Zhuoma Xiluo 3-1 in the title round.

In the men's event, Amit went down 1-3 against Fumitaka Morishita in the freestyle 57kg category. North Korea's Hakjin Jong won gold in the section, downing Kazakhstan's Rassul Kaliyev 3-1.

Rana lost 1-3 to Japan's Takafumi Kojima in the freestyle 70kg category with Uzbekistan's Bekzod Abdurakhmonov winning gold beating South Korea's Manho Oh 3-1.