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19-year-old Kamble’s debut shines like gold at 63rd Maharashtra Kesari
Participating for the first time in Maharashtra Kesari, Kamble outwitted Ravindra Khaire of Osmanabad 14-3 in the 79kg weight category
Ramchandra Kamble, a 19-year-old grappler from Barshi, Solapur, participated in the 63rd Maharashtra Kesari with an aim to perform his best and learn from other competitors. However, winning a gold in his debut season was a dream come true for Kamble.
Participating for the first time in Maharashtra Kesari, Kamble outwitted Ravindra Khaire of Osmanabad 14-3 in the 79kg weight category.
“Till now, I had participated in the Yuva Maharashtra Kesari in which I had won the gold in the 92kg category at Alandi in 2019. Before that, I won a gold in the 2018 edition in Panvel,” said Kamble.
Training at Kaka Pawar Talim since the last five years, Kamble idolises Rahul Aware.
“I practice with him at the Talim, whenever he is there. I knew it will be a tough competition (Maharashtra Kesari) so I had started training for three sessions in a day. Generally, we only have two training sessions,” said Kamble.
“To improve my skills on the mat, I trained extra two hours (10am to 12noon), which is generally our rest time. However, I wanted to focus on improving my drills,” added Kamble.
In the final Kamble, leaving a few moments, controlled the bout right from the start. Nothing changed in the second round as well as Kamble secured a thumping victory.
Focus on nationals in future
Although it is his first medal, Kamble knows what he needs to do in the future.
“Winning medals at Maharashtra Kesari should not be the only goal of wrestlers. Many wrestlers from Maharashtra think that Maharashtra Kesari is enough, and hence, our grapplers don’t get flourish at the national and international level. Now, I want to deliver a good performance in the 2020 nationals,” added Kamble.
In the 57kg weight category on mat, Jyotiba Atkale of Solapur defeated Ramesh Ingwale, Kolhapur 11-5 to claim the gold medal.
It was Ingwale who first opened an account on the score board by scoring two points. Atkale started slow, but once he got into the groove, he took five points quickly.
Dominating completely thereafter, Atkale hardly gave any chance to his opponent as he kept on pouncing over Ingwale to score points. In the end, Atkale secured victory by fall.
“All the bouts were easy for me. I won all the bouts 10-0. Now, the target is to start delivering good performance at the national and international level,” added Atkale.
Results:
79kg mat:
Gold: Ramchandra Kamble, Solapur
Silver: Ravindra Khaire, Osmanabad
Bronze: Keval Bhingare, Ahmednagar
Bronze: Shridhar Mulik, Satara
57kg mat:
Gold: Jyotiba Atkale, Solapur
Silver: Ramesh Ingwale, Kolhapur
Bronze: Atish Todkar, Beed
Bronze: Sanket Thakur, Pune
