Paris Olympics 2024 Wrestling: Nisha Dahiya loses in women’s 68kg QF after finger dislocation injury
Indian wrestler Nisha Dahiya was defeated by North Korea’s Pak Sol Gum by a scoreline of 8-10 in the quarter-final bout of the women’s freestyle 68kg event in the ongoing Paris Olympics 2024.
The defeat came as Dahiya dislocated the finger in her right hand midway through the fight, which resulted in her losing points in quick succession to her opponent.
The 2023 Asian Championships silver medalist won in the Round of 16 fight against Ukraine’s Tetiana Sova Rizhko by a narrow margin of 6-4. Dahiya started the quarter-finals in the same manner, taking a huge lead against her North Korean opponent, but a freak injury in the middle of the fight rendered her unable to continue, thus losing her chance of a podium finish in Paris.
Nisha Dahiya concedes massive lead in women’s 68kg QF after freak injury brings her to tears
Nisha Dahiya, who is making her Olympic debut in the Paris 2024 Games, has been in fine form so far, winning her debut match against Sova Rizhko of Ukraine without many problems. She continued to bring her A-game to the quarter-finals against the 19-year-old Pak Sol Gum of the DPRK, who was considered an underdog by most.
The bout proved to be an uneven contest from the very beginning, with Pak unable to deal with Dahiya’s agility and pace on the mat. Dahiya continued to pin her turn Pak over from her footing, and never allowed her a chance to attack her opponent. Dahiya was strong on the defense too, evading most of Pak’s maneuvers successfully.
The game took on a rather one-sided nature, with the scoreline reading 8-2 at one point. Just when the match looked to be over, Nisha Dahiya suffered a freak injury in her right hand. The Indian wrestler fell to the mat and started crying. The physios attending taped up her hand, but she was in pain and in tears within one minute of resuming play.
When the match finally resumed, Dahiya looked like a shell of her actual self, unable to defend Pak’s moves on her. The North Korean took full advantage of the situation and won a series of points in succession, tying the match on points and finally taking the lead 8-10.
Despite her best efforts, Nisha Dahiya could not recover from the losing position and lost the bout at the end. The heartbreak and unlucky nature of the scoreline was evident among the stands, with the fans in silence after witnessing Dahiya in tears.
Even though Nisha Dahiya failed to win the quarter-finals in her debut Olympic Games, she provided a brilliant fight against international opponents on the big stage and will look to make a roaring comeback at Los Angeles 2028.