New Delhi, March 30 (IANS) Indian wrestlers Yogeshwar Dutt (60kg) and Amit Kumar (55kg) booked their London Olympics berths Friday while Beijing Games bronze medallist Sushil Kumar (66kg) failed in the Asian qualifying event in Astana, Kazakhstan.
Yogeshwar and Amit booked their London ticket after qualifying for the final of their respective freestyle weight categories. The finalists qualify for the Olympics.
Amit — who qualified for the final beating Chinese Xiaobin Hong in the semifinals — went on to win the gold medal beating Shinichi Yumoto of Japan 5-0. The Indian wrestler got a bye in the round of 16 and then defeated Yemen’s Basheer Ahmed Mohammed Al Yamani in the quarters.
Sushil lost in the semifinals to Kazakhstan’s Akzhurek Tanatarov but ensured a medal beating China’s Ye Erlanbieke Katai 3-1 in the repechage bout to clinch the bronze.
According to information received here, Yogeshwar beat Mongolia’s Ganzorig Mandakhnaran in the semifinals of the 60kg men’s freestyle event. Yogeshwar won 1-0, 7-0 to secure his London Qualification.
Yogeshwar will face Iranian Esmaeil Poorjouybari in the final. Both qualified for the 2012 Olympics since top two of this tournament are eligible for London.
“I am happy to have qualified and this should now give me a few months of good tension-free training to get ready for London. I would like to thank the Mittal Champions Trust who have been by my side through this long road from when I didn’t even know if I would ever compete again. I now have my sights firmly set on an Olympic medal,” Yogeshwar said in a statement.
For Yogeshwar, who started at the bottom of the field in the 12th spot, it was a tough journey to the final. He started off against Kazakh Nadyrbek Uulu winning 2-1. He lost the second round 0-3 and then fought really well to win the third 5-3.
In the next round, Yogeshwar was up against Uzbek Mansurov Dilshod. Yogeshwar came from behind after losing the first round 0-1. The Indian won the second round 2-1 and thrashed Mansurov in the third and the final round, winning 6-0.
Among other Indians, Narsingh Yadav (74Kg), Pawan Kumar (84kg) and Mausam Khatri (96kg) also crashed out in the first round.
The next qualifying tournaments for India are in China (April 27-29) and Finland (May 4-6).
