Jakarta: The day isn’t getting any better for Sushil Kumar after his opening round loss to Adam Batirov of Bahrain. While the 5-3 defeat ensured he will not be able to win his first Asian Games gold, subsequent results now confirm that Sushil is indeed fully out of contention for a medal in the men’s 74 kg category.
One of India’s big medal favourites on the first day of competition as the Asian Games, Sushil took an early 2-0 lead in his bout but was soon penalised for hitting his opponent on the head and that opened the account for Batirov going into the break.
The 33-year-old from Bahrain picked up his pace after the break and led 3-2 with a take down. Sushil seemed sluggish and off-colour but managed to create two opportunities to score in the second period but could not convert both, picking up just one point. Failing to find a clincher, Sushil lost the bout 3-5.
Meanwhile, Bajrang Punia has marched into the finals of the 65 kg wrestling event. Olympic medallist Yogeshwar Dutt’s prodigy, Bajrang, won this final bout also by technical superiority, beating his opponent 10-0.
Another Indian wrestler Sandeep Tomar lost his 57 kg quarter-final to Reza Atrinagharchi of Iran. While both wrestlers were tied at 6-6 till the half-way point, Reza stamped his class on the final 3 minutes of play and clinched a 15-9 win.
Elsewhere, Indian men’s badminton team blanked Maldives 3-0 to enter quarterfinals. They will play hosts Indonesia, who received a first-round bye, in the last eight stage.
