Antim Panghal wins Women's Rising Star of the Year at UWW Awards 2023

Published at :December 13, 2023 at 4:13 PM

Modified at :January 14, 2024 at 12:21 AM

(Courtesy : The Quint)

The Haryana wrestler has won back-to-back gold medals at World U-20 Championships.

Antim Panghal, 19-year-old sensation, has been named ‘Women’s Rising Star of the Year’ in the United World Wrestling (UWW) Awards for 2023. This is a well-deserved recognition for the young wrestler who has made history by winning India’s first-ever gold medal at the World U-20 Wrestling Championships in 2022 and further defended it this year.

The young wrestler from Haryana has been on a roll for the past few years. She started wrestling at the age of 12, inspired by her father, who was a wrestler himself. She trained hard and showed great talent and dedication in the sport. Antim won her first gold medal at the Junior Asian Championships 2020 in New Delhi beating opponents from China, Japan, and Kazakhstan with ease. She followed it up with a silver medal at the U-23 Asian Championships in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

U-20 world champion, Antim Panghal, has been awarded 'Rising Star of the Year' award by UWW. Achievements in 2023:U-20 World Champs – 🥇Asian Champs – 🥈Senior World Champs – 🥉Asian Games – 🥉#Wrestling pic.twitter.com/g5FfsEqHbw
— Khel Now (@KhelNow) December 13, 2023

Antim’s journey to the top began in 2022, when she challenged the reigning queen of Indian wrestling, Vinesh Phogat, for a spot at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. In a thrilling bout, Antim took a 3-0 lead before Vinesh staged a comeback and won by criteria.

Later, she won her first senior gold medal at the Zouhaier Sghaier Ranking Series in Tunis, defeating the eventual world champion Dominique Parrish of USA in the process. She then created history by becoming the first Indian to win a gold medal at the U-20 World Wrestling Championships in Sofia. She repeated the feat in 2023, defending her title in Amman and becoming the only two-time junior world champion from India.

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Antim’s dream run continued at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, where she won a bronze medal in her maiden appearance. She got a chance to compete after Vinesh Phogat withdrew due to an injury and made the most of it. She beat the Tokyo 2020 bronze medallist Bat-Ochiryn Bolortuyaa of Mongolia in the repechage to claim the podium.

Prior to the Asian Games, the wrestler claimed the third spot at World Championships which enabled her to secure a Paris Olympics 2024 quota place for the country.

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