At the Asian Wrestling Championships 2025 in Amman, Jordan, Reetika Hooda, the current Under-23 world champion, won a silver medal in the women’s freestyle 76kg event.

After losing to Aiperi Medet Kyzy of Kyrgyzstan in the final, Reetika, who took home the bronze at the 2023 Asian Championships, was devastated.

Narrow margins characterized the final, as Aiperi, with steely nerves, won by a slim 7-6 edge to take the top spot on the podium. The U-23 world champion was leading 6-2 going into the final, but she made a mistake in the closing seconds of the match.

Aiperi defeated Reetika in the final for the second time in a major competition. In the Paris 2024 Olympic quarterfinals, the Indian grappler lost to Aiperi on criteria after the scores were tied at one.

On her way to the final, Reetika defeated Nodoka Yamamoto of Japan by fall to win her second Asian Wrestling Championship senior gold.

Reetika defeated Seoyeon Jeong of the Republic of Korea 10-0 in the quarterfinals because to her technical advantage.

Mansi Lather and Muskan, meanwhile, won bronze in the women’s 68kg and 59kg events, respectively. In the quarterfinals, Muskan, a 17-year-old wrestler, was defeated 12–2 by Sakura Onishi of Japan. She then put up a strong fight against Altjin Togtokh of Mongolia, winning 4-0 and earning the bronze medal in repechage.

After losing to eventual winner Zelu Li of the People’s Republic of China in the semi-finals, 18-year-old Mansi Lather, who made her senior debut at the Asian Championships, beat Irina Kazyulina of Kazakhstan in the bronze medal match by a score of 12–2.

India jumped to five medals in the Asian Wrestling Championships with three more. Bronze was won by Greco-Roman wrestlers Nitesh (97 kg) and Sunil Kumar (87 kg) throughout the competition’s first two days.

Nishu (55 kg) and Ankush (50 kg), the two Indian wrestlers who were left, came away empty-handed. Remina Yoshimoto, the eventual gold winner from Japan, defeated Ankush in the qualifying round due to technical superiority.

After making it through the repechage rounds, Nishu lost by fall to Otgontuya Bayanmunkh of Mongolia in the bronze medal match. On Friday, Antim Panghal, the Indian Olympian in the women’s 53kg division for the 2024 Summer Olympics, will compete.