New Delhi [India], June 1 (ANI): Indian wrestler Aman Sehrawat came back to action for the first time since the Paris Olympics 2024 as he appeared in the men’s 57kg freestyle category at the Ulaanbaatar Open 2025 wrestling Ranking Series on Sunday, where he managed to win a bronze medal, as reported by Olympics.com.
Sehrawat, India’s youngest individual Olympic medallist, started with a dominant 11-1 win over Kyrgyzstan’s Almaz Smanbekov in his quarter-final. However, he was narrowly beaten by Pan American champion Roman Bravo-Young of Mexico in the semis.
The Indian wrestler led 11-10 with just 20 seconds to go, but Bravo-Young scored a takedown and turn to snatch a 14-11 win. Aman recovered to claim bronze with a 12-2 win over Turkiye’s Bekir Keser.
Meanwhile, Rahul, who also competed in the 57kg, impressed early with a shock 5-0 upset of European U23 champion Lev Pavlov.
He then beat Kyrgyzstan’s Abdymalik Karachov 7-0 but was outwrestled 6-3 in the semi-finals by Mongolia’s Munkh Erdene Batkhuyag. In the bronze medal match, Rahul went down against Mongolia’s Davaabandi Munkh Erdene 9-7.
In the men’s 61kg category, Udit Gulia delivered a strong performance to reach the final.
He stormed past Kyrgyzstan’s Bekbolot Myrzanazar Uulu with an 11-0 win in the quarters before edging Artem Gobaev of Albania 2-1 in the semis.
However, in the gold medal bout, Mongolia’s Tuvshintulga Tumenbileg surged to an early six-point lead and fended off Udit’s comeback to win 6-4, leaving the Indian with silver.
Vicky won bronze in the men’s 97kg. He began with two 10-0 victories in the qualification round and quarter-finals before going down against Mongolia’s Gankhuyag Ganbaatar with a 4-2 scoreline in the semi-finals. Vicky then defeated U23 European champion Uladzislau Kazlou 5-0 in the bronze medal match.
Amit (men’s 79kg) lost 9-3 to the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Fariborz Faramarz Babaeiragani in the semi-finals but defeated Mongolia’s Dalaitseren Javkhlankhuu on criteria for bronze after the scores were level 14-14.
In other results, Vishal Kaliraman (70kg) lost 3-2 in a close quarter-final match to the Iran’s Mohammadali Amouzad. Rohit, competing in the 65kg division, suffered a 13-0 defeat against Turkiye’s Ahmet Duman. Dinesh (men’s 125kg) could not progress to the medal rounds.
India’s final medal tally at the Ulaanbaatar Open stands at 21 – six golds, seven silvers and eight bronzes.
Earlier in the tournament, Paris 2024 Olympians Reetika Hooda (women’s 76kg) and Antim Panghal (women’s 53kg) secured gold medals while Tokyo 2020 semi-finalist Deepak Punia (men’s 92kg) clinched a silver.
The Ulaanbaatar Open was the third stop in the UWW Ranking Series and featured more than 200 wrestlers. The fourth and final Ranking Series of the year will be held in Budapest, Hungary, from July 17 to 20.
Ulaanbaatar Open 2025 wrestling: Indian medal winners:
Anil Mor (Greco-Roman 55kg) – gold medal.
Reetika Hooda (women’s 76kg) – gold medal.
Antim Panghal (women’s 53kg) – gold medal.
Neha Sangwan (women’s 57kg) – gold medal.
Muskan (women’s 59kg) – gold medal.
Harshita (women’s 72kg) – gold medal.
Suraj (Greco-Roman 60kg) – silver medal.
Deepak Punia (men’s 92kg) – silver medal.
Shiksha (women’s 65kg) – silver medal.
Pushpa (women’s 55kg) – silver medal.
Prince (Greco-Roman 82kg) – silver medal.
Nitesh (Greco-Roman 97kg) – silver medal.
Udit Gulia (men’s 61kg) – silver medal.
Nishant Phogat (Greco-Roman 77kg) – bronze medal.
Karan Kamboj (Greco-Roman 87kg) – bronze medal.
Neeraj (Greco-Roman 67kg) – bronze medal.
Jaideep (Greco-Roman 74kg) – bronze medal.
Neelam (women’s 50kg) – bronze medal.
Aman Sehrawat (men’s 57kg) – bronze medal.
Vicky (men’s 97kg) – bronze medal.
Amit (men’s 79kg) – bronze medal. (ANI)
