The Commonwealth Wrestling Championships were a great success, with some really good wrestlers taking part over the three days.
The event took place from December 5 to 7, at the Kempton Park Indoor Sports Centre.
The Indian senior team were very competitive and, although they walked away with all the gold, South African athletes showed that they could compete with the best in the world.
India has a strong wrestling programme and, next to cricket, it is the biggest sport in the country, with athletes being drafted into wrestling schools from an early age.
The South African Wrestling Federation is preparing for the 2016 Olympic Games and these championships, together with the Commonwealth Games in 2014, are part of the programme implemented to get athletes there.
Team India won the Men’s Freestyle Wrestling Championship, South Africa came second and Canada third.
Boksburg Wrestling Club members Adem Digovich, Armando Hietbrienk and Mpho Madi all walked away with bronze medals.
Hietbrink finished third in the Men’s Greco Roman category,in the 84kg division, but also took part in the Men’s Freestyle category,where he finished fifth in a tournament otherwise dominated by India.
Digovich finished behind Indian duo Joginder Kumar and Rohit Patel in the Men’s Freestyle category (120kg division),with Madi rounding-up the top three in the Women’s Freestyle category (51kg division).
In the overall group results, India won in all three categories: Men’s Freestyle, Women’s Freestyle and Men’s Greco Roman.
