Antim Panghal among five nominees for United World Wrestling 2022 Rising Star of the Year award
Antim Panghal made history this year by becoming India's first Under 20 world champion. She is also the reigning junior Asian champion in the 53kg category.
Wrestling
Indian women’s wrestler Antim Panghal has been nominated for United World Wrestling 2022 Rising Star of the Year award.
Antim Panghal created history this year by winning India’s first-ever gold medal at the World U20 Wrestling Championships 2022 in August. The 18-year-old freestyle wrestler from Haryana is also the reigning Asian champion in the same age category.
Before Antim, six Indian wrestlers had reached the finals at the junior world meet in the previous 44 editions, but none managed a gold medal finish.
On her way to the top podium, Antim Panghal blanked U20 Asian medallist Altyn Shagayeva of Kazakhstan in the 53kg final, defeated junior European champion Amory Olivia Andrich of Germany 11-0, pinned Japan’s Ayaka Kimura, and also accounted for Nataliia Klivchutska of Ukraine, a bronze medallist at U20 European championships.
Antim Panghal competed at four international tournaments across age groups this year. It was a near-perfect season with 16 wins and only one loss, which came at the 2022 U23 Asian championships, where she settled for silver after losing to 2018 junior world championships silver medallist Aktenge Keunimjaeva of Uzbekistan.
She won gold medals at the U20 World Championships, U20 Asian Championships, and Zouhaier Sghaier Ranking Series, a senior category event.
Apart from Antim Panghal, Japan’s Nonoka Ozaki, USA’s Amit Elor, Sweden’s Emma Malmgren and Andreea Ana of Romania are in the five-women nominees list for the United World Wrestling 2022 Rising Star of the Year award.
Nonoka Ozaki, 19, won gold medals in the senior world championships and the Asian championship this year in the 62kg category.
Amit Elor, meanwhile, is the reigning U23 and the senior world champion in 72kg. The 18-year-old is currently ranked world No. 2 in the senior category.
Emma Malmgren, 21, is world No. 4 in 53kg and is the European champion in seniors. Andreea Ana, meanwhile, is the senior European champion in the 55kg.