Akshay Dhere rallies to post a fine victory in 57kg final

Akshay Dhere wins 57kg title in Federation Cup, while Sahil Kundu triumphs in 61kg final. Athletes Commission elections held.

Young wrestler Akshay Dhere rallied to record a brilliant victory in the 57kg final against Parmod Kumar and win his maiden elite title in the Federation Cup at the Maharaja Vibhuti Narain Indoor Stadium here on Wednesday.

Dhere, a National junior bronze medallist in 2022, pinned Parmod to corner glory in one of the few exciting freestyle contests in an otherwise lacklustre day.

Parmod grabbed an early 4-0 lead, but Dhere worked patiently to break his opponent’s resistance to make it 4-4 in the first period. A swift double-leg attack and leg lace put 21-year-old Armyman from Kolhapur ahead at 8-4. He carried on the momentum to perform another takedown and eventually pin Parmod with two minutes left.

In another neck-and-neck fight, National silver medallist Sahil Kundu (61kg) recovered from a 2-4 deficit to beat Amit 17-7 in a high scoring final bout.

Meanwhile, seven of the eight candidates in fray won the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) Athletes Commission elections.

They were Sahil, Smitha A.S., Bharti Baghel, Narsingh Yadav, Kushboo Pawar, Nikki and Sweta Dubey. Narsingh was elected chairman of the athletes’ commission.

The medallists, men’s freestyle: