Wrestler Jiao Huafeng of China notched the Greco-Roman 55kg title at the 15th Asian Games here on Sunday, beating Amiri Jasem of Iran in the final.
It's the first time for China to win an Asiad wrestling gold since 1990 when they clinched two golds at home in the Beijing Asiad.
The 25-year-old Chinese claimed the title by one-point advantage as he rallied from one round down (2-3) to win the decisive final round with a score of 5-3.
"I'm really happy to win a gold here. Ten years, I have striven after it for ten years. It's my best result so far and first gold in Asia," said Jiao, who beat Kazakhstan's Usupjanov Rinat 3-1 to reach the final this morning.
Sheng Zetian, head coach of the Chinese wrestling team, said it's a gold they dreamed for 16 years.
"In the Greco-Roman lightweight categories like 55kg, Asian wrestlers stand out for the world. So it's really hard to win a gold here," said Sheng.
"He played very well today, even out of our expectation.
"The gold give more confidence for the Chinese wrestlers to runfor a historical Olympic gold in the Greco-Roman event. "
The bronze medal was shared by Dalvi Vinayak from India and ChaKwang Su from DPR Korea.
Editor: Donald |
