The Indian wrestler came from behind to post an 8-6 victory against USA’s Abigail Elizabeth Nette.  

Manisha Bhanwala etched her name in record books on Friday in Astana as she became the first Indian woman to win a gold in 59kg freestyle event at the Senior World Wrestling Championships.

The Indian wrestler came from behind to post an 8-6 victory against USA’s Abigail Elizabeth Nette. Manisha was trailing 0-6 in the initial stages but made a brilliant comeback to etch her name in record books.

At the 2021 World Wrestling Championships, Anshu Malik came close to winning the world title but settled for silver. In the ongoing global competition in Astana, Kajal Dhochak and Neelam Sirohi too settled for silver medals in their respective weight categories.

The Indian women’s freestyle team overall won four medals in Astana. Tanu Sharma won the fourth medal, a bronze in the 72 kg category.

In the men’s freestyle competition, Vicky Hooda’s campaign came to a close in the 97kg repechage round. Going up against Iranian heavyweight Hassan Yazdani, Vicky was handed a 0-10 defeat by technical superiority.

Indian wrestlers in men’s 61kg, 70kg, 86kg, and 125kg freestyle categories lost their respective bouts in the preliminary stages.

EOM