Zagreb Open 2023 wrestling: India's Aman Sehrawat settles for bronze

One of the standout performances of the Zagreb Open 2023 was by India's Aman Sehrawat, who won the bronze medal in the men's 57kg at the Ranking Series in Croatia on Wednesday. 

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Sehrawat, who is known for his aggressive and physical style of wrestling, was in top form during the tournament. He put up a tough fight against USA's Zane Raye Rhodes Richards 10-4 to win India's first medal at this edition of the Zagreb Open 2023. Earlier, Aman Sehrawat lost to U20 world champion Yuto Nishiuchi of Japan 15-5 in the semi-finals. He defeated China's Minghu Liu 8-2 and Georgia's Roberti Dingashvili 11-8 in the qualification round and quarter-finals, respectively.

The competition was intense as both wrestlers were tied at 4-4 at the end of Round 1. Aman Sehrawat dominated Richards in the second round and collected six straight points to win the bout. Aman's performance was a proud moment for India and for Indian wrestling, as he became the first Indian wrestler to win a medal in the Zagreb Open 2023. This was also a significant milestone in Aman's career, as he continues to make a name for himself on the international wrestling stage.

Meanwhile, Vishal Kaliramana and Pankaj Malik, the other two wrestlers competing on the day, could not win medals. Vishal Kaliramana, competing in the men's 70kg, lost the bronze medal bout to Azerbaijan's Khadzhimurad Gadzhiyev by technical superiority (10-0). Kaliramana faced a similar defeat in the qualification round against USA's Alec William Pantaleo. But with the American making it to the final, the Indian wrestler made it to the repechage round. Kaliramana then inflicted a victory by fall on China's Agudamu to earn a shot at the bronze medal.

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Pankaj Malik, meanwhile, lost to Turkey's Emrah Ormanoglu 5-2 in the first round of the men's 61kg. He could not make it to the repechage. Pruthviraj Babasaheb Patil (men's 92kg) and Shivani Pawar (women's 50kg) will be the two Indians in action on Thursday.