Railways’ Pritam emerged as a surprise champion in the 74kg category by defeating talented junior Yash at the National Wrestling Championships here on Saturday, while Narsingh Pancham Yadav also won a bronze medal.
While Narsingh has recently returned to competitive wrestling after serving a four-year dope ban, Amit Dhankhar and Yash have been the most talked about in this weight category.
But it was the 25-year-old Pritam who wreaked havoc on the draw by declining two of his bouts and winning two by technical superiority.
Even in the final, he did not score a point, winning 11–0 against Yash, who recently won bronze at the Junior World Championships and is making the transition to the senior circuit.
Pritam dominated his bouts with his aggression and tremendous control. He knew exactly what was needed to win.
“It is good that I have been an underdog, otherwise, I would have fallen on that side too,” said Pritam, laughing after securing his first gold medal in the senior nationals in his fourth attempt.
“I had worked hard this year and was confident that I would emerge as a champion. Amit Dhankhar is a very strong and experienced wrestler, but I have clashed and beaten him in the past, so I knew what I needed to do,” said Pritam, who trains with Ranbir Dhaka in Rohtak.
It was Yash who ended Narsingh’s title hopes with a fast-paced 11-7 win in the semi-finals.
Narsingh lost the last four bouts after winning a match that deserved a title fight as he defeated the equally strong and experienced Dhankhar 7-6.
The match was full of drama and excitement as Narasimha’s defense and dodge moves were a sight to behold.
It was Amit who joined the board with the take-down move. Narsingh leveled near the circle with a two-point throw. Narsingh twice effected dog moves as he went for a leg attack, but got up and quickly backed away from Amit to go 6-2 for another take-down.
Dhankhar gets a push-out point and a left footed attack gets him two more. In just 30 seconds, Narsingh took a slim 6-5 lead. Amidst the loud cheers of the crowd, both the wrestlers were all out.
It looks like Dhankhar did a roll for two points and there was a push-out point too, but the referee gave none.
Dhankhar’s corner resisted and managed to score a push-out point, making it 6-6. Narsingh was ahead on the norm and had to defend only 11 seconds. Dhankhar desperately sought a take-down but the Maharashtra wrestler managed to defend.
In the absence of elite wrestlers Bajrang Punia and Ravi Dahiya, there was not much competition or talent in the 65kg and 57kg categories.
Rohit is expected to clinch the 65kg title after losing 0-4 to pin Sharwan.
The 57kg gold was taken by Aman, who overtook Abhishek with the technical superiority win.
In a tough competition, the 79kg final was won by Junior World Championships bronze winner Gaurav Baliyan, who defeated Jitendra Kinha 5-3.
Vicky emerged champion in the 92kg with a win over Monu Dahiya, while Shivraj won the gold in the 125kg category with a 3-1 win over Mohit.
Services won the freestyle team title, while Railways finished runners-up and Haryana finished third.
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