Akshay, Vicky strike gold in freestyle as Indian women eye historic medal rush in Vietnam

India continued their impressive run at the U23 Wrestling Asian Championships with freestyle grapplers Akshay T Dhere and Vicky claiming stunning gold medals here on Monday.

Akshay set the tone in the 57kg weight class by edging past Kazakhstan's Yelaman Amangeldi with a gritty 4-2 victory to claim the title.

Vicky soon doubled the joy for the Indian camp in the 97kg division, pulling off a thrilling 7-5 win against Uzbekistan's Sherzod Poyonov to secure the top spot on the podium.

In the 53kg final, Muskan controlled the bout against Vietnam's Thi My Linh Nguyen, registering a comfortable 6-2 win to clinch the title. Tapsya was even more dominant in the 57kg category, securing her gold medal with a victory by fall over Kazakhstan's Altyn Shagayeva while leading 4-0.

''Winning two freestyle golds on the continental stage is a fantastic achievement and a testament to the tactical brilliance of Akshay and Vicky,'' said Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) President Sanjay Singh.

''They fought with immense heart today. I am equally thrilled for our women wrestlers who have shown incredible resilience to reach so many finals. This dominant showing proves that the future of Indian wrestling is in very safe hands, and I congratulate the entire squad for bringing such immense pride to the nation.''.

Bhagyashree H. Fand added another gold to India's tally in the 62kg division, blanking Kyrgyzstan's Tynys Dubek 4-0 in her title clash, while Pulkit (65kg) continued the gold rush with 4-0 and 4-1 wins over Kyrgyzstan's Tynys Dubek and Mongolia's Narkhajid Nyamsuren respectively.

Amruta Shashikant Pujari took home the silver in the 72kg division after a narrow 2-4 defeat to Mongolia's Odgerel Edene Ochir.

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