World Wrestling Championships: Antim Panghal opens India’s account with a bronze

Antim Panghal secured her second successive bronze in the Wrestling World Championships on Thursday in Zagreb. Antim prevailed over Sweden’s Emma Jonna Denise Malmgren 9-1 in the women’s 53kg playoff, becoming the country’s first and only freestyle medalist this year.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!On a day when all four Indian greco-roman wrestlers exited the competition after losses in their opening rounds, the two-time junior world champion provided a reason to cheer. On Wednesday, the 21-year-old Antim lost a close semifinal match against Ecuador’s Lucia Yepez, the Paris Olympics silver medallist. Since Yepez reached the final, Antim had the opportunity to compete for bronze through repechage.In her bronze medal bout, Antim displayed excellent attacking takedowns, precise footwork, and defensive techniques, preventing Malmgren from countering effectively. In the first round, Antim led 3-0 after a successful takedown and a pushout.In the second and final period, Antim extended her lead through counter-attacks and takedowns, becoming only the second Indian woman wrestler after Vinesh Phogat to win two Worlds medals. Vinesh also won two bronze medals at the Worlds.Antim had won bronze at the previous edition in Budapest in 2023, where she defeated the same opponent 16-6. In their most recent encounter at the Hungary Ranking Series in 2024, Malmgren had beaten Antim 4-0. Antim’s latest bronze finish maintained India’s streak of returning from the Worlds with at least one medal since 2018.Earlier, in two other bronze repechage rounds involving Indian wrestlers, Manish Bhanwala was defeated 0-9 by Bulgaria’s Bilyana Dudova in the 62kg division, while Priya Malik was overpowered by Cuba’s Paris Olympics medalist Milaimys Marin in the 76kg category, resulting in a fifth-place finish for Priya.