Anshu Malik ensures medal for India at World Wrestling Championship

The 20-year-old becomes the first Indian woman to enter the final of the tournament.

Indian wrestler Anshu Malik stormed into the finals of the ongoing World Wrestling Championship on Wednesday. She defeated Ukraine's Solomiia Vynnk 11-0 by technical superiority in the semi-finals of the 57kg category.

Anshu Malik dominated the bout right from the start and took a four point lead after the first few moves. She did not give a chance to her opponent to take a single point with some aggressive play. The Indian wrestler eventually won the match by a scoreline of 11-0 on the fifth day of the tournament. 

With this remarkable victory, Anshu Malik has assured a medal for India at the ongoing competition. She will now face Helen Maroulis of the USA in the final on Thursday.

Earlier, Anshu Malik began the day with a 15-5 win against Nilufar Raimova of Kazakhstan in the first round. She went on to defeat Davaachimeg Erkhembayar 5-1 in the quarterfinals.

Notably, Anshu Malik scripted history as she is the first Indian woman to reach the finals of the World Wrestling Championship. Four Indian wrestlers - Geeta Phogat, Babita Phogat, Pooja Dhanda and Vinesh Phogat - have won the bronze medals for the country in the different editions of the tournament. 

Reigning Asian Champion Sarita Mor failed to qualify for the finals after losing 0-3 to Bilyana Dubova of Bulgaria in the semi-finals of the 59kg category. However, Sarita Mor will now play in the bronze medal match on Thursday. Earlier, she proved her prowess by producing an 8-4 upset against former world champion Linda Morais in the pre-quarterfinals before defeating Germany's Sandra Paruszewski 3-1 in the quarter. 

Disappointing display from other Indian wrestlers 

No Indian wrestlers from 68kg and 72kg categories were able to proceed beyond the quarterfinals. Divya Karran showed some spark in the 72kg category. She defeated Kseniia Burakova 5-4 in the first round. However, Divya faced a 0-10 defeat against Japan's Masako Furuichi in the quarter-finals to crash out of the tournament.

Ritu Malik, who competes in the 68kg category was eliminated in the qualification round. She lost to Ukrainian Anastasiia Lavrenchuk 0-4 to finish her journey in the tournament. 

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