Geeta's medal hopes shattered after repechage loss

Ukrainian Tetyana Lazareva beat wrestler Geeta Phogat 9-0 in the repechage round to end the Indian’s dreams of having a shot at a bronze medal. Geeta got into the repechage round after Canadian Tonya Lynn Verbeek, who had defeated the Indian in the first round, went on to qualify for the final of Olympic women’s 55kg wrestling event here Sunday. [caption id=“attachment_412833” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  The Bilali born wrestler lost the first period 0-8 and the second 0-1 against Lazareva. Reuters[/caption] The Bilali born wrestler lost the first period 0-8 and the second 0-1 against Lazareva. The first Indian female wrestler at the Olympics lost 1-3 in the first round to Verbeek in her initial match. The Canadian is a two-time Olympic medallist. The fight was even till round two with both opponents sharing a point each. Verbeek changed gears in the final round to advance to the quarter-finals. Geeta’s bronze medal chances brightened after Tonya won her quarter-final and semi-final bouts to reach the final, but her loss against Lazareva shatters those hopes. With input from Agencies