Wrestling World Championships: India pins hopes on Olympian Anshu and Asian champ Sarita Mor to end medal drought in Oslo
India’s hunt for a medal at the Wrestling World Championships continues as the competition reaches the halfway mark on Wednesday. The focus shifts to Tokyo Olympian Anshu Malik and Asian champion Sarita Mor as the duo begin their Oslo campaign.
Anshu Malik will start her campaign against the winner of the lone qualification bout between Kazakhstan's Nilufar Raimova and Germany's Elena Heike Brugger.
The Kazakh wrestler comes into the competition on the back of a gold medal at the Junior World Championships. She will start as favorite against the 24-year-old German.
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Anshu Malik has been given a rather tricky draw for the Wrestling World Championships. A win in the pre-quarterfinals would potentially pit her against Mongolia’s Davaachimeg Erkhembayar. The Mongolian wrestler is the 2020 Asian championship silver medalist.
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Should she qualify for the semifinals of the Wrestling World Championships semifinal in 57kg, the road is unlikely to get easy for her. Anshu will either face 2020 European Championships silver medalist Solomiia Vynnyk (Ukraine) or 2021 Matteo Pellicone champion Giullia de Oliveira (Brazil).
Moreover, it will be interesting to see whether Anshu Malik is fully fit when she takes on the match. The youngster was carrying an elbow injury during selection trials held in August. It significantly affected her performance as she looked rusty and struggled to execute moves.
Can Sarita Mor continue her golden run at Wrestling World Championships
Sarita Mor has been on fire this year. The wrestler has been a powerhouse in the 59kg in Asia and will once again be the favorite in 59kg women’s wrestling competition.
The two-time Asian champion, though, will have to work her way to reach the Wrestling World Championships semifinals.
She will open her campaign against the winner of the qualification bout between defending champion Linda Morais and 2020 European champion Grace Bullen.
If she wins the pre-quarterfinals, Sarita’s potential opponent in round eight would be 2020 Matteo Pellicone silver medalist Oksana Kukhta Herhel (Ukraine).
The potential semi-final match-up could be Sarita Mor vs Bilyana Zhivkova Dudova of Bulgaria.