Vinesh Phogat, Anshu Malik, Reetika Hooda secure Paris 2024 quotas for India at Asian Wrestling Olympic Qualifiers
Vinesh obtained her quota in the women’s 50kg division while Anshu and Reetika earned their prizes in the 57kg and 76kg categories, respectively.
Vinesh Phogat, Anshu Malik and Reetika Hooda secured three Paris 2024 quotas for India at the Asian Wrestling Olympic Qualifiers in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan on Saturday.
In the women’s 50kg category, Vinesh Phogat beat the Republic of Korea’s Miran Cheon, an Asian Championships bronze medallist, 10-0 via technical superiority in the qualifier.
The two-time Olympian and world championships medal winner then pinned Cambodia’s Samnang Dit in the quarter-finals to earn herself a quota bout against Kazakhstan’s Laura Ganikyzy in semi-finals.
The 19-year-old Kazakh grappler hardly posed a challenge to the experienced Vinesh as the Indian wrestler cruised through, winning the bout 10-0 by technical superiority.
Vinesh Phogat usually wrestles in the 53kg weight division but has dropped down to the 50kg since Antim Panghal has already secured a Paris 2024 quota for India in the division from last year’s world championships.
This was also Vinesh’s first international competition since the 2022 World Championships held in September. She was due to appear at the Budapest Ranking Series in Hungary last year but was forced to pull out due to illness.
Anshu Malik, a former Asian champion and world championships silver medal winner, also obtained a quota in the women’s 57kg.
The 22-year-old Anshu beat Kyrgyzstan’s Kalmira Bilimbek Kyzy, an Asian championships bronze medal winner, 12-1 in the quarter-finals before scoring another victory by technical superiority (11-0) over Uzbekistan’s Laylokhon Sobirova, an Asian Games bronze medal winner, in semis to secure her quota.
U23 world champion Reetika Hooda beat South Korea’s Eunju Hwang, Mongolia's Davaanasan Enkh Amar and the People’s Republic of China’s Juan Wang to make the semi-finals of the women’s 76kg.
She then blanked Chinese Taipei’s Hui Tsz Chang, Asian Championships bronze medal winner, 7-0 in the quota bout to secure India’s final quota of the day.
Mansi Ahlawat, meanwhile, fell one win short in the women’s 62kg. She beat Kazakhstan’s Irina Kuznetsova, an u23 worlds bronze medallist, 6-4 in her first bout but succumbed to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s Hyon G Mun, the reigning Asian Games champion, in the quota bout.
Nisha Dahiya, in the women’s 68kg, failed to make the semis. She managed to win against North Korea's Sol Gum Pak and Kazakhstan’s Yelena Shalygina but a loss to local favourite Meerim Zhumanazarova saw her drop out.
The Olympic wrestling qualifying tournament follows a bracket system and the two finalists from each weight division obtain quotas for their respective country. There are no gold medal bouts or repechage.
However, with only seven wrestlers competing in each of the women’s 68kg and 76kg divisions, the semi-finalists of these two categories were decided through Nordic system tournaments.
India have now secured four quotas in wrestling for the Paris 2024 Olympics and all have come in women’s wrestling. The men’s freestyle grapplers drew a blank on Friday and the Greco-Roman contingent will be in action on Sunday.