Divya Kakran failed to make it to the final after going down to Feng Zhou of China 4-14 in the last-four clash
Divya Kakran; (right) Manju Kumari
Asian Games bronze medallist Divya Kakran and Manju Kumari grabbed a bronze medal each as India's women wrestlers began their campaign at the Asian Wrestling Championships here yesterday.
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Kakran (68kg), also a bronze medallist at the Commonwealth Games last year, lived up to expectations as she delivered a bronze by pinning Battsetseg Soronzonbold of Mongolia to add to the silver she won at home in 2017.
Kakran failed to make it to the final after going down to Feng Zhou of China 4-14 in the last-four clash. In the quarter-finals, she was on fire on the mat as she prevailed over Hong Thuy Nguyen of Vietnam 10-0.
This is Kakran's first competition since coming back from an ankle injury. "This was my first international outing since the ankle injury. Though I would have liked to win the gold medal, I will take lessons from here and will keep on working hard for the upcoming tournaments," said the grappler, 21.
In the 59kg section, Manju was too powerful for Vietnam's Thi Huong Dao whom she beat 11-2 in the bronze medal play-off. Manju had earlier tasted a 6-15 defeat at the hands of Battsetseg Altantsetseg of Mongolia 6-15 in the semi-finals and got a chance to play the bronze medal contest. In the quarter-finals, she had emerged a 5-3 winner over Kazakhstan's Madina Bakbergenova 5-3. "I'm really happy to win a medal at my first Asian Championships. I hope I can carry on from here and keep on achieving my goals," said Manju after her medal.
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