Deepak Punia and Udit settle for silver medals at Asian Championship

Udit wins silver at Asian wrestling championships; Deepak Punia advances to final, Mukul Dahiya and Dinesh in bronze medal hunt.

Udit collected a silver medal in the men’s freestyle 61kg category at the Asian wrestling championships in Amman, Jordan, on Sunday (March 30, 2025).

Udit, a 57kg Asian silver medallist in 2024, defeated Bekbolot Myrzanazar Uulu 9-6 and Chinese Olympian Wanhao Zou 2-0 to reach the summit clash.

In the final, the 20-year-old Indian was beaten 6-4 by Japan’s Takara Suda, who took early advantage because of his swiftness and attacking game. Udit gave a good fight in the second period before settling for his second silver.

Olympian Deepak Punia, a former 86kg World championships silver medallist, confirmed another medal by entering the 92kg final on his return to international competition. Deepak got the better of Kyrgyz Bekzat Rakhimov 12-7 and Japanese Takashi Ishiguro 8-1 to set up a title clash with Iranian defending champion Amirhossein Firouzpourbandpei.

Two other Indians – Mukul Dahiya (86kg) and Dinesh (125kg) – remained in the bronze medal hunt.