So far as performances go, they had been as contrasting as they arrive: one, a defensive grasp class mixed with unimaginable agility and tactical consciousness; the opposite, an ultra-attacking present that was wrapped up inside 4 minutes. Each, although, yielded comparable outcomes: a gold medal for Antim Panghal and Savita Dalal.
Amidst infinite gloom, a non-existent federation and sexual harassment allegations towards its former head that pushed the game right into a disaster, the ladies wrestlers conjured India’s best-ever efficiency on the Junior World Championships in Amman.
Shorn of apply, camps and competitors, the under-20 wrestlers gained medals in seven out of 10 weight courses, together with three gold, one silver and three bronze, to complete forward of ladies’s wrestling powerhouse Japan and the USA within the total tally.
The headline act got here from Antim Panghal: a wrestler who till a fortnight in the past was knocking on the doorways of the Excessive Court docket, the sports activities ministry and the Indian Olympic Affiliation. The primary Indian to win two Underneath-20 World Championship titles wasn’t even positive she’d compete in Amman. She went solely as a result of the dates for the choice trials for subsequent month’s Senior World Championship weren’t formalised.
Not prepared to overlook a possibility to take part in a world competitors – a rarity this 12 months due to the federation being disbanded following the allegations of sexual harassment towards Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh by six girls wrestlers – Antim travelled to Jordan’s capital metropolis. And he or she didn’t must sweat loads en path to the highest of the rostrum within the 53kg class.
She wrapped up her first bout, towards Poland’s Nikola Wisniewska, in simply over a minute, then swept apart China’s Xuejing Liang in technical superiority (i.e., successful by a margin of 10 factors), blanked Russia’s Polina Lukina in a one-sided semifinal, earlier than beating Ukraine’s Mariia Yefremova 4-0 within the gold medal bout.
Indian wrestling’s most promising younger wrestler stamped her authority, successful 38 factors in her 4 bouts and conceding simply two.
However for Antim, the actual challenges lie forward.
After the IOA-appointed ad-hoc committee gave World Championship medallist Vinesh Phogat – who additionally competes within the 53kg class – an exemption from competing within the Asian Video games trials, Antim dragged the directors to courtroom difficult the choice.
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She misplaced the bout within the courtroom however after Vinesh, the reigning Asian Video games gold medallist, withdrew from the Hangzhou Video games following a knee surgical procedure, Antim finds herself in a novel place the place she’ll must compete in three tournaments within the subsequent six weeks.
Instantly after getting back from Amman, the wrestler must journey to Patiala for the choice trials for the World Championships, which start on September 16. Given how simply she prevailed within the trials for the Asian Video games, it’ll be a large shock if Antim isn’t on the flight to Belgrade subsequent month. And from there, she’ll must fly straight to Hangzhou for the Asian Video games.
Again-to-back competitions in such a brief interval imply Antim must handle her weight fastidiously and guarantee she stays wholesome. Whereas the wrestlers are prone to be given a weight allowance of 2kgs for the choice trials, which means they’ll weigh most 2kg greater than the prescribed restrict within the weight class, there gained’t be any such leniency on the two main occasions. This implies Antim must both minimize her weight twice in such a brief interval or keep it, which is a difficult activity for a wrestler.