Sandeep of Rohtak returned from a three-year hiatus to make his mark by winning the Greco Roman 60kg title at the Senior Open Ranking wrestling tournament on the Nandini Nagar Mahavidyalaya campus here on Tuesday.
An Armyman who was injured and resumed training in November 2025, Sandeep fought six bouts over two days because of the delayed action but carried out his plans well to emerge the champion.
In a keenly-fought final, he edged past Delhi’s Harsh 3-1. Sandeep gained a 3-0 lead in the first period by scoring because of his opponent’s passivity and then effected a takedown. He gave away one point in the second period due to his own passivity but relied on his strong defence to stay ahead till the end.
“Yesterday, I fought two bouts and today four. It’s difficult to manage without food. My endurance helped,” said the former National champion Sandeep, reflecting the difficulty the wrestlers face due to the erratic schedule in hot and humid conditions.
Manjeet Haryana proved too good for Umesh. | Photo Credit: SANDEEP SAXENA
Manjeet secured a hard-fought 4-2 win over Umesh for the 82kg crown.
In the women’s section, Olympian Sonam Malik (65kg), who underwent a left knee surgery and made a comeback after four years, was stunned 3-2 by Ankita in the first round.
Asian bronze medallist Hansika Lamba withdrew after injuring herself during a 57kg bout.
The results (finals): Men: Greco Roman: 55kg: Sanjeev (Har) bt Sushil Kumar (Har) 9-0; 60kg: Sandeep (Har) bt Harsh (Del) 3-1; 63kg: Vijay (Har) bt Vinay (Mah) 9-0; 67kg: Nishant (Har) bt Vikas (Chd) 7-2; 72kg: Suraj (SSCB) bt Gaurav Duhoon (UP) by injury; 77kg: Vikas (Har) bt Sunny Baisla (UP) 8-0; 82kg: Manjeet (Har) bt Umesh (Har) 4-1; 87kg: Tejpal (Mah) bt Sagar (Har) by injury; 97kg: Ashish (Har) bt Abhimanu (Pun) by injury; 130kg: Mehar Singh (Har) bt Vipin (Har) by injury.