 "Antim Panghal lost in the first round of the 53kg wrestling freestyle event at the Paris Olympics 2024. Reuters")
India’s misery in wrestling was compounded on Wednesday after Antim Panghal lost in the first round of the 53kg wrestling freestyle event at the Paris Olympics 2024. In the pre-quarterfinals bout, Turkey’s Zeynep Yetgil defeated the 19-year-old Indian by technical superiority (10-0).
The first Olympics bout for the former world junior champion from India only lasted for 1.41 seconds as an attacking Yetgil gave her no time to settle down and quickly started to pick up points to leave the Indian grappler in tears.
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Earlier in the day, Indian wrestling was rocked by the news that Vinesh Phogat was disqualified from the Olympics ahead of her gold medal match in the 50kg freestyle event due to failing to make weight. Phogat was to take on the USA’s Sarah Hilderbrandt in the gold medal match but was disqualified for being overweight by 100 grams at the time of weigh-in.
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Antim Panghal, a world championship bronze medallist, could have had a chance to win bronze through the Repechage round if Yetgil reached the final, but those hopes were dashed when the Turkish grappler lost to her German opponent Annika Wendle in the quarter-finals.
Antim clinched the women’s 53kg quota by winning a bronze medal at the World Championships in 2023. This forced Vinesh to drop down to 50kg from her pet category.
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More ShortsThree more Indian wrestlers are still to compete at the Paris Olympics after Nisha, Antim’s exit, and Vinesh’s disqualification.
Aman Sehrawat will compete in the men’s freestyle 57kg event on Thursday, while Anshu Malik will feature in the women’s 57kg category. Reetika Hooda (women’s 76kg) will start her campaign on Saturday.