india-s-medal-tally-rises-as-reetika-claims-silver-in-amman

India’s Reetika Hooda, the reigning Under-23 world champion, secured a silver medal in the women’s freestyle 76kg category at the Asian Wrestling Championships 2025 in Amman, Jordan.

 

Reetika, who had claimed a bronze in the 2023 edition of the championship, suffered a narrow defeat in the final against Aiperi Medet Kyzy of Kyrgyzstan.

 

The closely contested bout saw Reetika leading 6-2, only to falter in the dying moments, allowing her opponent to script a comeback and secure a slender 7-6 victory.

 

This marks Aiperi’s second major victory over Reetika, having previously edged past the Indian grappler in the quarter-finals of the Paris 2024 Olympics, where the scores were level at 1-1, but Aiperi advanced on criteria.

 

En route to the final, Reetika showcased remarkable form, defeating Japan’s Nodoka Yamamoto by fall to secure her berth in the gold medal match.

 

In the quarter-finals, she registered a dominant 10-0 victory through technical superiority over Seoyeon Jeong of South Korea.

 

Meanwhile, Indian wrestlers Muskan and Mansi Lather claimed bronze medals in the women’s 59kg and 68kg categories, respectively.

Also read: Nitesh clinches bronze for India at Asian Wrestling C'ship

 

Seventeen-year-old Muskan, after losing to Japan’s Sakura Onishi in the quarter-finals, produced a spirited performance in the repechage round to defeat Mongolia’s Altjin Togtokh 4-0 and claim bronze.

 

Mansi Lather, making her senior debut at the tournament, secured a 12-2 victory over Kazakhstan’s Irina Kazyulina in the bronze medal match after being defeated by eventual champion Zelu Li of China in the semi-finals.

 

With these latest achievements, India’s medal tally at the Asian Wrestling Championships has risen to five. Greco-Roman wrestlers Nitesh (97kg) and Sunil Kumar (87kg) had earlier won bronze medals on the first two days of the competition.

 

However, not all Indian wrestlers found success. Ankush (50kg) and Nishu (55kg) exited the tournament without a podium finish.

 

Ankush was outclassed in the qualifiers by Japan’s eventual gold medallist Remina Yoshimoto via technical superiority. 

 

Nishu, who had advanced through the repechage rounds, lost by fall to Mongolia’s Otgontuya Bayanmunkh in the bronze medal match.

 

India’s Olympic-bound grappler Antim Panghal (women’s 53kg) is set to compete on Friday.