Wrestling nationals: Sandeep emerges surprise champion in 74kg; Narsingh loses early

Narsingh Pancham Yadav, returning to action after four years of doping suspension, had a very good start as he defeated young Gaurav Baliyan, the defending champion, without breaking much sweat (10-0), but lost a close bout to Dhankar (4-3) in the next round.

Sandeep Singh of Punjab emerged as the surprise champion in the star-studded 74kg category, rallying to beat Asian Championships silver medallist Jitender Kumar 3-2 in the final of Senior National Wrestling Championships (freestyle) in Noida on Saturday.

Narsingh Yadav loses to Amit Dhankar. (Narsingh Yadav/Instagram)

In the final, Sandeep was lagging behind 1-2 with 30 seconds left on the clock. A swift leg attack saw the Punjab wrestler score two points to edge past Jitender. Earlier, Sandeep was relentless in his attack against Amit Dhankar in the quarter-final and won with technical superiority. In the semi-final he got the better of Vinod.

Narsingh Pancham Yadav, returning to action after four years of doping suspension, had a very good start as he defeated young Gaurav Baliyan, the defending champion, without breaking much sweat (10-0), but lost a close bout to Dhankar (4-3) in the next round. A last-minute counterattack by Dhankar saw him turn the tables on Narsingh. Dhankar and Vijay of Haryana won bronze medals in the 74kg.