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Narsingh Pancham Yadav did India proud by winning the gold medal in the 74kg freestyle category on the opening day of the Senior Asian Wrestling Championships here on Wednesday.

The Indian grappler got the better of his formidable Iranian opponent, Saeed Riahi, in front of boisterous fans at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex.

It was a very close bout with both rounds being drawn with a 1- 1 scoreline each. But Yadav prevailed by scoring the vital point in the dying seconds of the contest. The reigning national champion in the 74kg category beat Kyrgyzstan’s Ilgiz Dzhakypbekov 6- 0 in his opening bout before prevailing over M Ablokulov of Uzbekistan in the quarter- finals. Victory over Kazakhstan’s S Osmanov put Yadav in the title contest.

The final was a keenly- fought affair and the large number of Iranians present at the venue added to the decibel level.

Riahi went for the toe- hold from the start but Yadav was alive to the danger. Both contestants scored in quick succession and the fight was level going into the break.

There was no clear leader in the second period either as points were hard to come by.

The Iranian must have thought he had the gold medal in his grasp when he scored his second point. But Yadav turned the tables on him with just seconds remaining.

In the 60kg category final, India’s Rahul Mann went down to Kyrgyzstan’s Nadyrbek Ululu 14- 8.