Vinesh Phogat became the first Indian woman to win multiple medals at the World Championships. The 28-year-old won the bronze medal in the women’s 53kg freestyle category in Belgrade.
Vinesh Phogat opened India’s account at the Wrestling World Championships in Belgrade, claiming her 2nd bronze medal in the word meet, on Wednesday, September 14. Vinesh has become the first Indian woman to win more than one medal at the wrestling world championships.
Vinesh Phogat defeated Emma Malmgren, the reigning European champion 8-0 in the bronze medal bout of women’s 53kg freestyle category on Wednesday.
It was a good comeback from Vinesh Phogat who suffered a shock loss in the opening round of the 53kg category on Tuesday. The 10th-seeded Indian lost to Mongolia’s Khulan Batkhuyag 0-7 but she was pulled into a repechage round. Batkhuyag reached the final and eventually finished with silver after losing to Dominique Parrish of the United States of America.
Vinesh was leading 2-0 after a solid show of defensive discipline at the end of the first period in her bronze medal bout following which she upped the ante to go 8-0 up and secure victory by points.
Vinesh had defeated Zhuldyz of Kazakhstan in the first round of repechage and qualified for the bronze medal match after her 2nd repechage opponent Leyla Gurbanov pulled out.
Meanwhile, India’s Nisha Dahiya will fight for bronze in the women’s 68kg category on Thursday. She lost her semi-final bout to young Japan wrestler Ami Ishii.
For Vinesh, it’s been a good few months on the tour. The highly-rated wrestler put behind the Tokyo Olympics heartbreak and made a strong comeback at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham by winning her 3rd gold at the CWG.
Vinesh has overcome a difficult phase in her career wherein she contemplated quitting the sport after the heartbreak in Tokyo. The 28-year-old will be more confident wrestler after the World Championship medal as he continues her journey to Paris 2024.
