World Wrestling Championships: Antim Panghal loses in semi-final, to fight for bronze and Olympics quota

Antim Panghal, on Wednesday, September 20, lost to Belarus’ Vanesa Kaladzinskaya in the semi-final of the 53 kg category event in the World Wrestling Championships 2023 in Belgrade.

Kaladzinskaya, who also won the bronze medal in the Tokyo Olympics two years ago, beat Panghal 5-4. The 30-year-old is a two-time world champion and also beat Vinesh Phogat two years ago in Tokyo.

Moreover, Kaladzinskaya booked a berth in the Paris Olympics 2024 and will now face Japan’s Akari Fujinami in the gold medal match. Fujinami defeated Greece’s Maria Prevolaraki in the other semi-final.

Kaladzinskaya took a crucial 1-0 lead at the end of the first round to push Panghal on the backfoot. In the second round, Panghal did try her heart out, but failed to have the last laugh.

ANTIM PANGHAL’S IMPRESSIVE CAMPAIGN

As far as 19-year-old Panghal is concerned, she has a chance to win a bronze medal on Thursday, September 21. The youngster’s hopes of qualifying for the Paris Olympics are still alive.

Earlier in the day, Panghal pulled off a massive upset after beating reigning world champion Olivia Dominique Parrish. The youngster found herself under pressure after going 0-2 down, but she kept her composure to win the match 3-2.

Thereafter, she got the better of Poland’s Roksana Marta Zasina and made her way through to the quarterfinals. The woman prodigy took only a minute and 38 seconds to get past her Polish opponent. In the quarters, Panghal defeated Canada’s Natalia Malysheva 9-6.

While other wrestlers struggled in their respective categories, Panghal has kept alive India’s hopes in the tournament.