Junior Wrestling World Championships: Antim Panghal and Savita grab gold medals
Antim Panghal scripted history on Friday as she became the first Indian to defend her U20 World Wrestling Championships title. Antim defeated Ukraine's Mariia Yefremova in the final by VPO (4-0) to clinch the gold medal on Friday.
Antim, who needed just 60 seconds in the semifinal to defeat Polina Lukina, completely dominated Yefremova in the final. She did not allow Yefremova to move, foiling her leg attack with power and accuracy.
Thanks to Antim Panghal's presence of mind, she completed the bout by turning the right-leg attack into the final take-down move.
India's Reena clinched the bronze medal on Friday by defeating Shugyla Omirbek of Kazakhstan in the Bronze Medal match by VPO1 (9-4). The Indian youngster was defeated by Alina Filipovych in the 1/8 match by VFA (6-0).
She entered the Repechage round and won against Sevval Cayir of Turkey by VSU (10-0). Notably, she also defeated Volha Hardzei to qualify for the Bronze Medal match. Reena has been impressive throughout 2023. She has a win-loss record of 3-1 this year.
Savita grabs the gold medal in 62kg category of the Junior Wrestling World Championships
Savita's unbeaten run in 2023 continues as she clinched yet another gold medal this year. The 17-year-old defeated France's Mathilde Thiebaux by VFA (5-0) to clinch the gold medal, the second one for India on Friday.
Savita came into the U20 Wrestling World Championships as one of the contenders after grabbing the U17 World Championships title in July.
Prior to the U17 Championships, Savita clinched the gold medal in U20-U15 Asian Championships in Jordan. Before that, she defeated Sofya in the final of the U23-U17 Asian Championships in June 2023.
Antim Kundu grabbed silver in the 65kg category on Friday. She lost to Koshkina Ekaterina in the final of the World Championships by VPO1. Kundu entered the tournament after clinching the gold medal in the U20-U15 Asian Championships by defeating Ito Nagisa in the final at Jordan.