Ibrahim Moustafa Wrestling: Ankit Gulia wins bronze medal in Greco-Roman 72 kg category

India's Ankit Gulia has won the bronze medal in men's 72kg at the 2023 Ibrahim Moustafa Wrestling tournament, showcasing his skill and determination on the international stage. The tournament, held in Alexandria, Egypt, featured some of the best wrestlers from around the world, making Ankit's achievement all the more impressive.

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In the bronze medal match of the Ibrahim Moustafa tournament, Ankit faced off against Mohammadreza Abdolhamid Geraei of Iran. However, Geraei picked up an injury in one of his earlier bouts. After that, he decided to pull out from the medal match. Ankit's bronze was India's first medal at the Ibrahim Moustafa tournament.

Ankit Gulia had a tough path to the medal podium. He faced off against several skilled opponents on his way to the bronze medal match. Gulia, who won the U15 Asian championships gold in 2019, lost his opening round bout to Georgia's Otar Abuladze on technical superiority (9-0). However, after Otar Abuladze made it to the final, Ankit Gulia entered the repechage round. He defeated Kyrgyzstan's Nurzhigit Keneshbek Uulu on technical superiority (9-0) in that round.

On the other hand, Sajan Bhanwala entered repechage after losing 7-0 to Aik Mnatsakanian of Bulgaria in his opening bout in the Greco-Roman 77kg event. While Indian wrestler Ashu (men's 67kg) returned empty-handed in the Ibrahim Moustafa tournament. Earlier, Ashu won a bronze medal at Zagreb Open earlier this year. Sunil Kumar (men's 87kg) made it to the bronze medal matches through repechage but he also didn't make it.

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Meanwhile, Greco-Roman wrestlers Manjeet (55kg), Vikram Kurade (60kg), Nitin (63kg), Karanjeet (67kg), Rohit Dahiya (82kg), Narinder Cheema (97kg) and Naveen (130kg) could not make it past the first round. While in women's freestyle wrestling, Kiran, competing in 76kg, was the only Indian to win two bouts on Friday. She defeated Epp Mae of Estonia 9-1 in the qualification round. She also got the better of Anastasiia Osniach of Ukraine 3-2 in the quarter-finals.