Rajasthan’s Ashvini bags gold at Under-15 Asian Wrestling Championship

Jaipur: Rajasthan’s Ashvini Vishnoi defeated Kyrgyzstan’s Aiana Asamalikova 4-0 to win a gold in 62kg freestyle at the Under-15 Asian Wrestling Championship in Oman. The Bhilwara wrestler is the first female from the state to win a gold at an international meet. Coming from a family of wrestlers with her father himself being a state-level player, Ashvini never had to look beyond her home for inspiration to get her career started in the sport. It was in 2018 after one of her cousins won a medal at a national event, the youngster expressed her desire to become a wrestler. Ashvini, whose father Mukesh is a mill worker, was never short on support from the family. Her father works during night shifts so that he can devote the entire day to help her daughter train.The state wrestler was in red-hot form as she remained unbeaten in the Asian meet. She defeated Japan’s Natsuki Kumazawa 4-0 in the semifinal.“She practices for 7-8 hours everyday. We have built an arena at home to facilitate her training,” said Mukesh.The state chief minister Ashok Gehlot congratulated Ashvini and wrote on Twitter, “Ashvini Vishnoi has made the country proud by winning the gold medal at the international stage. Congratulations to her and all the best for the future.”