It was an easy day for Paris Olympian Antim Panghal, who faced no resistance from her competitors in the 53kg category trials on Sunday at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium and booked her berth for the World Wrestling Championships.
Already a World Championship medallist with bronze in the last edition, Antim went past Pooja in the semi-finals, dominating the bout and her ‘fitle’ move resulting in injury to her opponent. In the final, Antim was the superior wrestler and defeated Hinaben to ensure her participation at the tournament for the second time.
Coming on the back of two Ranking Series wins, Antim is expected to be one of the seeded Indian wrestlers at the World Championships. The 20-year-old Antim will be hoping for some redemption after her controversial participation at the Olympics last year, where she got in trouble for misusing her accreditation after her early exit from the event.
Antim admitted making “mistakes” but insisted it was just a case of confusion in Paris. “The federation did not have any issue with me. There was confusion, I also made mistake. I did not realise that it was getting out of hand. Olympics is different from Asian Games and World Championships. I did not know much,” she told reporters.
“There was a Games village, which was also there at the Asian Games but we had stayed at a hotel in the Asian Games (Hangzhou), there was confusion, I had never experienced such an environment. There was pressure and I spoilt my bouts due to that. Then I was asked to be at the camp. The federation has been helpful, I was sent to two tournaments where I won gold.” Antim added.
Recently crowned Asian Champion Manisha Bhanwala was one of the two wrestlers in the 62 kg category and defeated Mansi Ahlawat 2-1 in the final to book her berth.
In the 68 kg category Nisha Dahiya, was in action, but her return from injury (sustained during an Paris Olympics bout against Park Sol Gum) was cut short in the first round by Radhika, the eventual winner of the category
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Ankush won in the 50 kg category while Priya Malik overcame a stiff challenge from seasoned Kiran in the 76 kg category.
The headliner of the day was Vaishnavi Patil of Maharashtra, who overcame years of falling short in the trials to achieve her first major breakthrough. The 65kg class, Vaishnavi first overcame Freedom Yadav in a bout where she trailed 0-4 but went on to win 10-6. She then defeated Haryana’s Muskan 7-2 to seal her ticket.
“I am processing it right now. I have been constantly coming for trials, but I always miss out on the final berth. This feels like all of my hard work is finally paying off. However, this is just the start, and I have to win many more such matches,” Vaishnavi, who was ecstatic and almost breathless due to all the photo-op after her win, told the Indian Express on the sidelines.
The selected Indian wrestlers will participate at the World Championships scheduled from 13th to 21st September in Zagreb, Croatia. The grapplers will be part of a camp organized 15 days ahead of the tournemant in Croatia, Wrestling Federation of India President Sanjay Singh confirmed.
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Indian Women’s Squad for World Wrestling Championships 2025
50 kg: Ankush, 53 kg: Antim, 55 kg: Nishu, 57 kg: Tapasya, 59 kg: Neha, 62 kg: Manisha Bhanwala, 65 kg: Vaishnavi Patil, 68 kg: Radhika, 72 kg: Jyoti Berwal, 76 kg: Priya Malik
