Gyanender (red) in action against Suraj in the Greco-Roman 60kg final at the National wrestling championships in Jaipur on Saturday, February 3, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Y.B. Sarangi
Asian Games bronze medalist Sunil Kumar steamrollered Manoj Kumar to post a 9-1 win and claim the 87kg crown in the Greco-Roman competitions on the opening day of the National wrestling championships at the Railway Stadium here on Saturday.
Asserting his class, Sunil, a former Asian champion, used his impressive power and firm grip to push Manoj out and draw first blood.
Manoj drew level because of Sunil’s passivity.
Nevertheless, Sunil again regained the lead by pushing Manoj out and then rolled him to take the gold.
Gyanender overcame a late charge from former World cadet champion Suraj to record a narrow 3-2 win in the 60kg final.
Gyanender rode on a takedown to lead 3-0 after the first period.
Suraj used the referral system well to deny Gyanender a further two-point advantage and narrowed the gap to 3-2.
Gyanender staved off a strong challenge from Suraj in the final minute to emerge as the champion.
The medallists: Greco-Roman: 55kg: 1. Vishwajit (Mah), 2. Sanjeev (MP), 3. Rohit Yadav (RSPB), Manjeet (SSCB); 60kg: 1. Gyanender (SSCB), 2. Suraj (Har), 3. Vikram Kurade (RSPB), Pravin (Mah); 63kg: 1. Sunny Kumar (Har), 2. Shamsher Singh (Pun), 3. Umesh (Del), Sandeep Kumar (Ukd); 67kg: 1. Ashu (RSPB), 2. Sachin Sehrawat (Pun), 3. Vinayak Patil (SSCB), Vinay (Tri); 72kg: 1. Kuldeep Malik (RSPB), 2. Sameer (Mah), 3. Vishal (Har), Ankit Gulia (SSCB); 77kg: 1. Vikas (RSPB), 2. Karan (Guj), 3. Tarun (Pud), Rahul (SSCB); 82kg: 1. Rahit Dahiya (RSPB), 2. Neeraj (Del), 3. Shivaji (Mah), Lovepreet Singh (Pun); 87kg: 1. Sunil Kumar (RSPB), 2. Manoj Kumar (Har), 3. Rohit Bura (MP), Ravinder Khatri (SSCB); 97kg: 1. Nitesh (RSPB), 2. Kapil (Pud), 3. Narinder Cheema (Pun), Sunil (Chd); 130kg: 1. Naveen (SSCB), 2. Hardeep (RSPB), 3. Tushar (Mah), Mehr Singh (Guj).