Wrestling nationals: Sarita Mor denies Geeta Phogat golden return, Sakshi Malik ousted early

Returning to competitive wrestling after three years, Geeta Phogat won the silver medal in the women’s 59kg division at the senior national wrestling championships 2021 in Gonda, Uttar Pradesh, on Friday.

Geeta Phogat, a former Commonwealth Games champion and world championships bronze medallist, cruised to the final despite the nationals being her first competitive event since becoming a mother in 2018.

However, Sarita Mor, another bronze winner at the world championships, beat the Haryana wrestler 8-0 in the final to deny Geeta Phogat the gold medal.

Interestingly, Geeta Phogat had also lost to Sarita Mor in the gold medal match in 2017 – the last time she competed at the nationals before going on a maternity break.

Rio 2016 Olympic medallist Sakshi Malik, meanwhile, endured disappointment in the women’s 62kg weight category as she was shown the door early by Haryana’s Manisha. 

Geeta’s sister Sangeeta Phogat eventually won the gold medal in the 62kg division, beating Ritu Rani by technical superiority in the final.

Sangeeta’s husband, Tokyo 2020 medallist Bajrang Punia, was in the crowd to watch his better half in action.

The women’s 72kg saw a major upset with Divya Kakran, the reigning Asian champion and a bronze medallist from the recent U23 world championships, stunned by Railways’ Pinki, the eventual gold medallist. Divya Karkran, however, came back to win bronze.

Shivani Pawar, who won silver at the recent U23 worlds, continued her good form as she picked up gold in the women’s 50kg category, beating Tokyo 2020 Olympian Seema Bisla in the semi-finals before pinning junior worlds bronze medallist Simran for the title.

In men’s 92kg, Sakshi Malik’s husband and former Youth Olympics medallist Satyawart Kadiyan secured gold after downing Maharashtra’s Harshavardhan 8-2 in the final.