Vinesh Phogat won India’s first medal at the ongoing 2022 Wrestling World Championships in Belgrade on Wednesday after she clinched bronze in the women’s 53kg event.
She became the first Indian female wrestler to win two medals at Worlds.
The Indian, a 2019 Worlds bronze medallist also in 53kg, recorded a dominant 8-0 win over Sweden’s Emma Malmgren in the bronze medal bout after making it through repechage.
Vinesh had earned another shot at a World Wrestling Championships bronze medal as she became active via the repechage round after a disappointing defeat in the first round against Mongolia’s Khulan Batkhuyag 0-7.
Vinesh, fresh from winning her third Commonwealth Games gold medal in Birmingham, was thrown down by her Mongolian opponent in the final seconds of her bout. Batkhuyag went on to win silver.
#WrestleBelgrade 🤼♀️
Wrestling World Championships
2019: 🥉
2022: 🥉
🇮🇳 @Phogat_Vinesh becomes the FIRST Indian female wrestler to win two medals at the World Championships. 👏🏽https://t.co/sWLrzw8N6h pic.twitter.com/Gr86N0XkGP
— The Field (@thefield_in) September 14, 2022
Wrestling: What does repechage mean?
Malmgren was the aggressor in the first period but Vinesh took the first points after she reversed Malmgren’s leg attack to get a takedown. However, as the referee broke off the wrestlers, Vinesh vinced as she stretched her right knee. She was on the defensive from here on.
After the break, Vinesh continued to keep…
