Picture Credit: Twitter
Star Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat claimed the bronze medal by beating reigning European champion Emma Malmgren 8-0 in the women's 53kg category at the World Championships tournament on Wednesday. The 28-year-old bounced back strongly after her shock defeat against Khulan Batkhuyag of Mongolia in the qualification round and secured a historic bronze.
Phogat dominated the proceedings against the Swedish to join an elite list of Indian wrestlers who have won multiple medals at the World Championships. The Commonwealth Games gold medallist had earlier won a bronze medal at the 2019 edition of the World Championships. Phogat has now become the only Indian to win more than one medal at the Wrestling World Championships.
The bronze medallist had a disappointing start to her World Wrestling campaign as she suffered a one-sided loss against 2022 Asia Championships silver medallist Batkhuyad in the qualification round on Tuesday. Phogat trailed 0-3 at the end of the opening round of her match against the Mongolian before going down 0-7 to bow out of the race for the elusive gold.
Notably, Batkhuyag stormed into the finals after registering comprehensive wins in her next matches only to settle for silver after losing the game against Dominique Parrish of the United States of America.
Earlier, in the evening, Nisha Dahiya delivered a gritty fight but lost to Japan's junior world champion Ami Ishii in the women's 68kg semifinal. Nishi will fight for the bronze medal on Thursday. The 2022 World Wrestling Championships started in Belgrade on September 10 and will go on till September 18.