Anshu Malik scripts history; becomes first Indian woman finalist at World Wrestling Championships

By: WE Staff | Friday, 8 October 2021

Anshu Malik settled for a silver medal after losing her 57kg final against 2016 Olympic champion Helen Lousie Maroulis, but Sarita Mor won her first medal by winning the 59kg bronze here on Thursday.

Anshu entered the match aggressively and with great purpose after being India's first-ever woman finalist at the World Championship, but she finally lost the summit fight after being pinned.

To this day, Sushil Kumar (2010) is India's only world champion wrestler.

Anshu had a 1-0 lead before the halftime break, but the game turned dramatically in the second half.

To take a 2-1 lead, Maroulis grabbed Anshu's arm and pulled her down.

She had Anshu's right arm in a vice-like hold and continued twisting it to get a 'exposure' point, bringing the score to 4-1.

Anshu, the Asian champion, was in excruciating pain, but the American maintained her grip and had Anshu's back on the mat for a fall victory. Anshu needed medical attention right after after the fight since she was in tears.

Nonetheless, the Nidani wrestler put forth a courageous effort, winning a silver medal as India's top performer in the World Championships.

Alka Tomar (2006), Geeta Phogat (2012), Babita Phogat (2012), Pooja Dhanda (2018), and Vinesh Phogat (2019) had all previously won bronze.

In the bronze play-off, Sarita defeated Sweden's Sara Johanna Lindborg 8-2 to break her worlds medal drought.

Indian ladies have now surpassed their best-ever performance in the World Championships, when the Phogat sisters won two bronze medals in 2012.

Sarita startled the Swede with a four-pointer early in the game, then scored two more points with a rapid take-down. By the break, the reigning Asian champion had a comfortable 6-0 lead and had pulled off another stunning move to sprint to an 8-0 lead.

Sarita gave up a takedown late in the fight, but still had a large enough lead to win. It was her sixth effort at the worlds, having previously failed to win a medal at one U-23 and four senior worlds.

Meanwhile, Divya Kakran (72kg) lost her repechage round to Mongolia's Davaanasan Enkh Amar in the morning session, and the Greco Roman wrestlers disappointed as expected.

Sandeep (55 kg), Vikas (72 kg), Sajan (77 kg), and Harpreet Singh (82 kg) all dropped out. Only Sajan was able to win a bout, while the other three all lost their first bouts.