Who is Antim Panghal? All you need to know about the Indian wrestler who's being deported from Paris 

Antim Panghal is an Indian wrestler who has taken rapid strides in her career in the last 12 months. Despite being just 19, Panghal has already made a mark in international tournaments. In 2021, Panghal won the bronze medal as a 16-year-old at the World Cadet Championships. Then in 2022, she bagged the gold medal in the Tunisia Grand Prix, World Junior Championship, and Asian Under-20 Championship.

In 2023, Panghal upped her game and won the bronze medal in the Hangzhou Asian Games at the Lin’an Sports and Culture Centre. The youngster also clinched the silver medal in the Asian Championships in Astana. In that year itself, she won gold in the World Junior Championships.

Panghal was a part of India’s wrestling contingent for the Paris Olympics 2024 and will participate in the women’s 53 kg category. The other Indian wrestlers in the quadrennial event were Vinesh Phogat (women’s 50kg), Aman Sehrawat (men’s 57kg), Nisha (women’s 68kg), Anshu Malik (women’s 57kg), and Reetika Hooda (women’s 78 kg).

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How did Antim Panghal qualify for the Paris Olympics 2024?

Antim Panghal will be making her Olympics debut after punching her ticket to Paris during the World Wrestling Championships last year in Belgrade. She won the silver medal after beating defeated Joanna Malmgren, a two-time European champion, to win the bronze medal in the women’s 53kg event.

She also made the record for being the youngest from her country to finish on the podium in the World Wrestling Championships.

Earlier this year, Antim Panghal won the silver medal in the Polyak Imre Varga Janos Memorial championship in Budapest, Hungary. Last year, she was also conferred with the prestigious Arjuna Award. It remains to be seen if the wrestler, hailing from Hisar in Haryana, can live up to expectations in Paris.

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