Antim Panghal has secured an Olympic quota for India after successful bronze in girls’s 53kg freestyle on the World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia on Thursday.
She beat Emma Malmgren of Sweden 16 – 6 for a victory by Technical Superiority. Antim took an enormous 5-0 lead however then Malmgren locked her in a double armbar to make it 5-2 after which a leg maintain to make it 5-4. The unbelievable opening spherical ended 6-6. She began the second spherical the best way she did the primary, rolling her opponent for 4 fast factors earlier than closing out the sport for the large win.
Malmgren is a wrestler of wealthy pedigree. She gained the U23 European Championships this yr and the senior European Championships too. In final yr’s Worlds Malmgren had been overwhelmed by one other Indian within the bronze medal bout — Vinesh Phogat.
In the meantime, Antim was competing underneath a impartial flag because of the suspension of the Wrestling Federation of India by the world physique. The quota she’s gained, although, will go to India.
She had began the event with an enormous upset within the first spherical, defeating reigning world champion Dominique Olivia Parrish of the USA 3-2 (a victory by factors with technical factors). The previous junior world champion Antim, recovered from 0-2 down with a takedown to make it 2-2 earlier than successful after Parrish misplaced some extent for passivity, a marker of Antim’s defensive qualities.
The 19-year-old Indian wrestler then beat Poland’s Roksana Marta Zasina 10-0 (a victory by technical superiority) within the pre-quarters after which Russia’s Natalia Malysheva 9-6 (a victory by factors with technical factors) within the quarterfinals.
In her semifinal, she misplaced to Kaladzinskaya — a reputation acquainted to Indian wrestling as she had overwhelmed Vinesh within the Tokyo Olympics. The class was finally gained by the division’s most dominant wrestler, Akari Fujinami of Japan.
Antim had had a tumultuous build-up to the World Championships. In August, it had been introduced that Vinesh Phogat, who had been sitting in protest towards the ousted Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, could be getting a bye in choice trials for the upcoming Asian Video games within the 53kg class. Antim had filed a courtroom case whereas concurrently competing in (and successful) the trials set for the Video games, trials from which Vinesh had been exempt. The case was dismissed by the Delhi Excessive Court docket nearly concurrently Antim gained the trials within the Indira Gandhi stadium throughout city.
She then fought to have the date for the trials of the World Championships pushed again, and later went on to win that too. Within the meantime, Vinesh introduced on social media that she was injured and could be present process a surgical procedure that may preserve her out of the Asian Video games and the Worlds trials.
What makes Antim’s efficiency stand out much more is that no different Indian made it previous the quarterfinal stage throughout classes.
(Further reporting by Shyam Vasudevan)