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What's the story?
Fighting back from a 3-point deficit, India's Rajender Kumar brought home the country's first medal from the Asian Wrestling Championship. After rising back to a fight against his Uzbekistan opponent, Javokhir Mirakhmedov, Kumar clinched the Bronze in the 55-kg Greco-Roman category medal bout.
In case you didn't know...
The 2018 Asian Wrestling Championship began on the 27th of February and is scheduled to take place till the 4th of March. The event is being held at the Kozhomkul Sports Palace in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
The heart of the matter
In what seemed like a lost battle, Kumar was way behind on the scoreboard, with just two minutes remaining on the clock. However, with stellar determination, the 32-year-old Indian fought back to level the scores to 3-3, before clinching the tie.
This victory is a big moment for Kumar as he has made a comeback to an international circuit after almost 2 years. He saw defeat in the quarterfinals where he lost to his Japanese opponent Shota Tanokura.
Also Read: Sushil Kumar may be overlooked for the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games
Before bagging his bronze, he made an excellent comeback by defeating Khasan Sufiev from Tajikistan with a finishing score of 8 - 0.
All did not go well for other Indian wrestlers, Navin Sevlia and Vikram Kurade, who exited the tournament after being defeated in their respective matches.
What's next?
With Rajender Kumar making India proud with the medal, it is yet to be seen how the rest of the tournament pans out for the Indian wrestlers.
Author's take
Rajender Kumar won the Gold medal in the 2010 Commonwealth Games and has now opened India's account in the Asian Wrestling Championship. It is yet to be seen how he makes the best of his comeback in the future.
