Vinesh Phogat saved her greatest performance for last, defeating Joana Malmgren of Sweden in a rematch to take home bronze at the Wrestling World Championships in Belgrade on Wednesday. The first Indian woman to win two medals at the Wrestling World Championships was Vinesh, who took home the bronze in 2019.
The bronze medal gave her more confidence after she lost shockingly to Khulan Batkhuyag of Mongolia to start her campaign. She scarcely fought in her first match, which Batkhuyag won 7-0. Later, Vinesh would express gratitude to Batkhuyag for helping the Mongolian get to the final, which gave Vinesh a chance to win a bronze medal through a repechage.
Vinesh Phogat's road to at #WrestleBelgrade:
Shyam Vasudevan (@JesuisShyam) September 14, 2022
▪️ Loses to Khulan Batkhuyag
▪️ Beats Asian medallist Zhuldyz Eshimova
▪️ Gets walkover from Leyla Gurbanova
▪️ Defeats 2021 Jr World Champion Joana Malmgren@Phogat_Vinesh: the first woman wrestler to win 2 Worlds medals. pic.twitter.com/eo0jNrp48X
In just 74 seconds, Vinesh defeated 2022 Senior Asian Championship bronze medalist Zhuldyz Eshimova of Kazakhstan in her first repechage match. After scoring her first points with a takedown, she finished the match by pinning her Kazakh opponent to the mat 20 seconds later. Then, Vinesh received a stroke of luck when Leyla Gurbanova of Azerbaijan withdrew from their second-round repechage match due to injury. It opened the way for Vinesh, who was now just a medal away from winning a second Worlds medal.
The Indian grabbed control of the fight early on, scoring an early 2-0 lead and coming off as the aggressor. The 2021 Junior World Champion Malmgren was unable to free her left arm from Vinesh's hold, and the Indian dug in tight to score the takedown. Vinesh appeared to have wounded her knee, but she brush it off, giving them cause for concern about an injury. She waited patiently and put up a strong defence.
Vinesh received a verbal warning from the referee early in the second half for being too passive, which motivated the Indian to make an explosive move and score two more points to make it 4-0. It demonstrated that Vinesh could be able to score at will. Prior to rolling over Malmgren to take the lead 6-0, she purposefully slowed down the pace once again. Vinesh's fight was well-planned tactically; she didn't give her opponent much of a chance.
Vinesh finally broke into her signature smile after scoring two more points on a takedown to seal the victory. The bronze medal means a lot to a wrestler who had lost interest in the sport and had thought about quitting. She had just won her third gold medal in a row at the Commonwealth Games, but the competition at the Worlds is much tougher.
Gadkari calls for special Public transport system in PPP mode
Ritu Phogat to face Singapore's Tiffany Teo in women's atomweight
Robin Uthappa retires from all forms of cricket, wrote emotional post on social media
