Three months back, the Indian women’s team failed to win a single medal at the Ranking Series in Istanbul. But in a stunning turn of events, it won the team title at the second Ranking event in Almaty.
After winning the three gold and a bronze medal Saturday, India added two gold, one silver and one bronze to take their points tally to 192 points, 20 more than second-placed Kazakhstan which finished at 172 points.
Out of the six gold medals on offer in women’s wrestling, Kazakhstan and Mongolia won two each as well. But the young Indian team outperformed beyond expectations despite missing a few big names from the line-up.
Two freestyle gold medals were also awarded Saturday with world champion Amir ZARE (IRI) claiming the 125kg title and Batyrbek TCAKULOV (SVK) winning at 97kg.
As women’s wrestling came to a close, two-time Asian champion Sarita MOR (IND) and MANISHA (IND) won the gold at 59kg and 65kg respectively to propel India to the top.
Over the years, Mor had made a reputation of being one of the strongest defensive wrestlers in India. But with a young crop of wrestling coming up with an aggressive brand of wrestling, she found it difficult to match them. Despite being hailed as a top-level wrestler domestically, she found it difficult to win international medals internationally.
That all changed in 2020 when she won her first Asian gold medal at home in New Delhi. She defended her title in Almaty last year and added a World bronze medal in Oslo at 59kg.
“Earlier, my wrestling was very defensive,” Mor said. “But for the last three years, I have managed to make some progress and improve it. I have benefitted from wrestling at numerous competitions and I hope to continue that to rectify my mistakes.”
Source and image: www.uww.org
