India clinch two medals in a day at World Wrestling Championships

Anshu Malik became the first Indian woman to win a silver medal at the event.

The ongoing World Wrestling Championships have been full of entertainment for the enthusiasts of the sport. Indian wrestlers Anshu Malik and Sarita Mor delivered a silver and a bronze medal respectively in their categories. Before the day’s action began, Anshu Malik became the first female wrestler ever to enter a final match in the World Championships. She now becomes the first to win a silver medal, although missing out on the gold would be disappointing.

On the other hand, Sarita Mor was incredible and joined the likes of Alka Tomar (2006), Geeta Phogat (2012), Babita Phogat (2012), Pooja Dhanda (2018) and Vinesh Phogat (2019). All the above mentioned wrestlers have previously won bronze at the World Championships. 

Apart from the female wrestlers, their male counterparts were also in action on Thursday. They gave it their all but could not make a mark after a string of bad results. Here is a look at the day’s action in the ongoing Wrestling World Championships in Oslo, Norway:

Anshu Malik - 57 kg

The biggest and the most positive outcome from the day was Anshu Malik’s silver medal win at the World Wrestling Championships. She faced the Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Helen Maroulis in the final bout. The 2016 Rio gold medallist was too strong for the Indian, and pinned the youngster to bag the gold. Malik will be disappointed after missing out on the gold, but will be proud also after writing her name in the history books.

Sarita Mor - 59 kg

In the 59 kg bronze medal match, Sarita Mor emerged victorious and collected India’s second medal of the day. The experienced grappler faced off against and dominated her Swedish opponent Sara Lindborg. The bout ended by 8-2 in the Indian’s favour who collected a well-deserved bronze medal from the World Wrestling Championships.

Divya Kakran - 72 kg

India’s Divya Kakran was playing in the repechage bout in the 72 kg freestyle category. She was up against Davaanasan Enkh Amar of Mongolia. Divya gave her best, but ended up losing by a 2-6 scoreline in her opponent’s favour.

Sajan - 77 kg Greco-Roman

Indian male grappler Sajan was in action from the 77 kg Greco-Roman category. He secured a thrilling victory by 11-6 against Exauce Mukubu of Norway in the qualification round. However, he tasted defeat in the World Wrestling Championships pre-quarters to Tamas Levai of Hungary. He lost the bout via fall when the scores were 0-7. 

Vikas - 72 kg Greco-Roman

India’s hopes in the 72 kg category rested on the shoulders of Vikas. However, the grappler lost to Cengiz Arslan of Turkey via technical superiority. Vikas’ opponent was too strong for him, and took the score to 8-0 in his favour which led to the official declaring him the winner at the World Wrestling Championships. 

Harpreet Singh - 82 kg Greco-Roman

Harpreet Singh also suffered defeat in the qualification round of the 82 kg Greco Roman category. Despite his best efforts, the Indian grappler lost the World Wrestling Championships bout to Pejman Soltanmorad of Iran. The close-contest ended in a 3-4 scoreline in the favour of Harpreet’s opponent.

Sandeep - 55 kg Greco-Roman

Piling on more misery, Sandeep also lost his opening bout of the day in the 55 kg Greco-Roman category. The Indian lost to Ekrem Ozturk of Turkey. The scoreline read 7-0 in the favour of the wrestler from Turkey who was too strong for Sandeep. He simply could not keep up with the strength and technical brilliance of his rival at the World Wrestling Championships. 

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