Firstpost Explains: What does repechage in wrestling mean and how does it work?
The term repechage is derived from the french word repecher, as per Olympics website. In English, it means rescue. So through a repechage round, a wrestler despite losing the first round can still end up with a medal in wrestling at Games.
Vinesh Phogat won bronze at 2022 World Wrestling Championships by winning the repechage round. Image: Screenshot
Vinesh Phogat on Wednesday became the only Indian woman to win two medals at World Championships after beating Sweden’s Jonna Malmgren 8-0 in the final of the 53kg repechage round.
Vinesh had suffered a shock 7-0 defeat to Khulan Batkhuyag (Mongolia) in the qualification round but Batkhuyag’s entry into the final allowed Vinesh to take part in the repechage round.
So what is a repechage?
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The term repechage is derived from the French word repecher, as per Olympics website. In English, it means rescue. So through a repechage round, a wrestler despite losing the first round can still end up with a medal in wrestling at Games.
How?
Very simple explanation. The second chance is given to those losing wrestlers whose opponent goes on to play the final. So if wrestler A beat wrestler B, and went on to win the semi-finals, then B automatically gets selected for repechage.
The reason behind giving another chance to the wrestler is that just because he/she was paired with a strong contender in the draw, they should not be penalised and given another chance. The rule was introduced first in 2008 Beijing Games.
How does it work?
The loser of the first round against one of the finalists battles with the wrestler who lost against the same finalist in one of the later rounds. Let’s say, the two finalists are A and B. The wrestler who lost in Round of 16 to finalist A will take on wrestler who lost in quarters to finalist A, in repechage. The winner of this repechage round will meet loser of the semis for bronze medal. Same for the wrestlers who lost to finalist B. There are always two bronze medal matches in wrestling.
Sushil Kumar, Yogeshwar Dutt and Sakshi Malik have also clinched bronze medals at Olympics through the same process.
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