Asian championships: Wrestlers wear masks as “precautionary measure” against coronavirus

NEW DELHI: Some wrestlers participating during Asian Wrestling Championships in New Delhi were seen wearing masks. While wrestlers from China have been denied visas, those wearing masks said that it was a more of a “precautionary measure.”

"We have a contingent of around 28 and just a few of the wrestlers and officials are wearing masks. Although we know there is no virus here and it is safe but why to take a chance," Seyeon Lee, part of the medical staff of Korea, told PTI.

Some members also cited the air quality in Delhi as a reason for wearing masks.

"Some wrestlers from Korea, Thailand and Japan are wearing masks which is common because they always have apprehensions about Delhi's pollution levels," a Wrestling Federation of India official said on condition of anonymity, claim some media reports.

For a fact, Indian Wrestler Sunil Kumar beat Azat Salidinov of Kyrgyzstan by

5-0 in the final 87 kg category bout at the Asian Wrestling Championships. Notably, this is India’s first Greco-Roman gold in the competition after 27 years.

Entering the gold medal bout after a come-from-behind victory in the semifinal, Kumar comprehensively defeated his opponent in the final of 87kg category at the KD Jadhav Indoor Stadium here.

Earlier, Kumar was down 1-8 in his semifinal bout against his Kazakh opponent Azamat Kustubayev but made a great comeback, grabbing 11 points on the trot to win the bout at 12-8. In 2019 also, Kumar had made it to the final and ended with a silver medal.

Another Indian, Arjun Halakurki won a bronze in Greco-Roman 55kg, his first medal at his first senior international event. Arjun was leading 7-1 against Iran’s Naserpour but lost 7-8 in the semifinal.

The Asian wrestling championships will be streamed LIVE on WrestlingTV. continent on www.wrestlingtv.in. The championships are scheduled in New Delhi from February 18 to February 23. Home support and a fast-growing fan base have also inspired wrestlers who leave no stone unturned to bring laurels to the country.

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