“Jaisa naam waisa kaam” - Indian fans slam Antim Panghal for 0-10 defeat to Turkey’s Zeynep Yetgil in women’s 53kg opening round
Indian wrestler Antim Panghal lost to Zeynep Yetgil of Turkey by technical superiority in the opening round of the women’s 53kg freestyle event in the ongoing Paris 2024 Olympics on Wednesday.
Panghal failed to score a single point against her 23-year-old Turkish opponent, with the match being over in less than two minutes of the first round by the margin of 0-10.
Netizens took to social media to express their disappointment with the performance of the 19-year-old wrestler. One fan posted:
“Jaisa naam waisa kaam antim ka antim performance poor and pathetic.”
“What was that ANTIM? Yes it was an #Olympic debut. Still not even 2 min on the mat,” another post read.
One fan termed the Asian Games bronze medalist a ‘disgrace’, writing:
“Hello! How many Indians are ready to post the "chin-up" "you're a champion" "be strong" tweets for Antim Panghal 🤣. What a shambolic defeat. This is 4th seed??? Disgrace to the nation.”
One fan called out Panghal as well as table tennis player Sreeja Akula for their disappointing performances on the day, writing:
“Still people would come and defend Sreeja Akula and Antim after such a flop performance 🙃”
“Declare this #OlympicGames national disaster. This is the worst Olympics of all time for India where we got only heartbreak. Antim Panghal just makes it too bad. She defeated #VineshPhogat 10-0 only to lose badly here.” one fan posted.
Another wrote, “Turkish wrestler is a college students. Antim completely surrendered in front of her.”
“All these Vinesh lost to Antim cope and hype just to see 70seconds of Antim contest,” one fan wrote.
Antim Panghal’s Paris 2024 Olympics journey over in less than two minutes
Despite being just 19, Antim Panghal was expected to secure a podium finish in her debut Olympic Games appearance in Paris. The wrestler from Haryana already had Asian Games and Asian Championships medals in her kitty and looked all set to add an Olympic medal this year.
However, her Olympic dream ended as soon as it started, with her opening-round match against Turkish wrestler Zeynep Yetgil finishing in one minute and 41 seconds. The bout ended in a 0-10 victory to the Yetgil by technical superiority, with Antim Panghal failing to win even a single point in the match.
However, despite the loss in the opening round, she still has a chance of securing a bronze medal match via a repechage round if Yetgil advances to the final of the women’s 53kg freestyle event.