PH bets bow out early in Asian Games freestyle wrestling

FILE–A security official keeps watch during the men’s and women’s freestyle wrestling matches during the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou in China’s eastern Zhejiang province on October 6, 2023. (Photo by WANG Zhao / AFP)

HANGZHOU, China—Southeast Asian Games gold medalists Ronil Tubog and Alvin Lobreguito absorbed stinging losses on Friday, bowing out early in their opening bouts at the 19th Asian Games wrestling competition here.

First to fall on the mat inside the Lin’an Sports Culture and Exhibition Centre was the 30-year-old Tubog, who got vanquished by India’s Bajrang, 10-0, by technical superiority in the men’s freestyle 65kg division.

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The 31-year-old Lobreguito followed Tubog to the exit, faltering by technical superiority at the hands of Iran’s Ebrahim Khari, 10-0, in the men’s freestyle 57kg division.

Jiah Pingot likewise didn’t survive her initial trip on the mat as Chinese Taipei’s Chen Yi Jing asserted herself, 2-0, in their women’s freestyle 50kg quarterfinal encounter.

The 24-year-old Pingot pocketed the silver medal in the SEA Games thrice since the 2019 edition in Manila.