Meenakshi Goyat went down in the final of the women’s 53 kg to settle for a silver medal at the Asian Wrestling Championships 2026 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on Friday.
Up against World Championships silver medallist Zhang Jin of the People’s Republic of China, Meenakshi Goyat lost 10-0 via technical superiority in a one-sided final.
Earlier, Meenakshi defeated the Republic of Korea’s Seoyoung Park 4-2 in the semifinals after getting the better of Uzbekistan’s Sakibjamal Esbosynova 15-4 in the last eight clash.
Meenakshi had qualified for the Indian squad after beating world medallist Antim Panghal in the national trials last month. It was Antim’s first defeat on the national circuit in three years.
Meanwhile, Monika (65kg) and Harshita (72kg) won their respective bronze medal bouts to finish on the podium. Monika defeated South Korea’s Hanbit Lee 9-0 to win the women’s 65kg bronze, while Harshita pinned Uzbekistan’s Sevinchoy Polvonova in the 72kg bout.
However, Manisha Bhanwala (57kg) lost her bronze medal bout while Mansi Ahlawat (62kg) failed to make it past the repechage round. Manisha had won the gold medal at last year’s Asian Wrestling Championships in the 62kg category.
Sujeet, Abhimanyou, Sandeep in finals
Elsewhere, reigning Under-23 world champion Sujeet Kalkal entered the 65kg category final after beating 2024 world champion Abdulmazhid Kudiev of Tajikistan 7-2 in the semifinal.
Sujeet will take on Uzbekistan’s Umidjon Jalolov in the gold-medal bout, setting up a rematch of the Under-23 World Championships final against the very same opponent.
Abhimanyou Mandwal qualified for the 70kg final after stunning defending champion Ernazar Akmataliev of Kyrgyzstan 6-3 in the semifinal. He will face Tömör-Ochiryn Tulga of Mongolia, the reigning Asian Games champion in the 65kg, in the gold medal bout.
Sandeep Mann also entered the 79kg final after a dominant 10-0 win over Somonjon Ikromov of Tajikistan in the semifinals. The Indian wrestler will take on Japan’s Keyvan Gharehdaghi in the final.
Ankush (57kg) and Vicky Hooda (97kg) will compete in the bronze medal matches in their respective weight classes.
India sent 30 wrestlers for the 2026 Asian Wrestling Championships, with 10 each in men’s freestyle, women and Greco-Roman categories.
India’s Greco-Roman wrestlers finished the continental meet with five medals, two silvers and three bronze. India’s women wrestlers also won five medals, which included a silver and four bronze.
