Practising defence from ground position in the last three weeks with top wrestlers paid dividends after Sunil Kumar, who won India`s first Greco Roman medal at the Asian Games in 13 years, walked away with a bronze in the 87kg category as three of his compatriots exited the tournament on Wednesday.

Up against Kyrgyzstan`s Atabek Azisbekov, the Indian wrestler fought a strategic bout in which twice he defended well from `par terre` position, denying his opponent a scoring opportunity from the ground position for a 2-1 win.