Dan Kolov-Nikola Petrov wrestling: Vinesh Phogat shows great form to beat Sarah Hildebrandt and enter final

New Delhi: India’s Vinesh Phogat displayed great form to make the 53kg finals with a win over world silver medallist Sarah Hildebrandt of USA at the Dan Kolov-Nikola Petrov wrestling in Ruse, Bulgaria on Saturday.

Playing in her first tournament after moving to the 53kg category, Vinesh defeated the American 4-2.

Coming back strongly after Hildebrandt took an early lead, Vinesh completed a double leg to secure a takedown and tied things up at 2-2. Hildebrandt got hipped over by Vinesh who was in a defensive position and Vinesh scored the first period pin over Hildebrandt.

Pooja Dhanda claimed gold in the 59kg category while Rio Olympic bronze medallist Sakshi Malik settled for a silver medal in the 65kg category.

In the men’s freestyle, Sandeep Tomar lost his final bout in the 61kg category to finish with silver on Friday night.

Vinesh had moved into the semifinals of the women’s 53kg with a 9-4 win over American Amy Fearnside on Saturday, setting up a last-four clash with Hildebrandt, who had beaten Leorda 10-4.

Dhanda finished undefeated in the round-robin format of the competition which included a win over her compatriot Sarita Mor, while Malik lost to Henna Johansson of Sweden in the 65kg final.

In the men’s 61 kg final, Tomar suffered a defeat at the hands of Nurislam Sanayev of Kazakhstan.