Wrestling News: Pooja Dhanda wins gold, Sakshi Malik loses in final

Indian wrestlers won four medals including gold and assured one more at the Dan Kolov-Nikol Petrov tournament in Bulgaria. Pooja Dhanda won a gold medal in the 59 kg category while Rio Olympics bronze medallist Sakshi Malik lost her final bout to end the tournament with a silver medal in the 65kg category. In the men’s freestyle category, Sandeep Tomar lost his final in 61 kg and had to be satisfied with a silver medal. Asian Games gold medallist Bajrang Punia will wrestle in the final of the men’s 65 kg category against Jordan Oliver of USA today. Dhanda’s gold medal came after she finished undefeated in the round-robin format of the competition which included a win over her compatriot Sarita Mor. That bout was virtually the only competitive bout of the category. In the 65kg category final, Malik fell to Henna Johansson of Sweden after conceding a four-point throw in the first period and two takedowns in the second. She survived a close pin-call at the end of the first period.