The race for the women’s 57kg slot for the Olympic qualifiers gathered intensity with a fitter Anshu Malik avenging her Asian Games trials defeat to Worlds bronze medallist Sarita Mor in the women’s 59kg final in the National wrestling championships at the Railway Stadium here on Sunday.
Having recovered from a knee injury, Anshu, a World championships silver medallist in 57kg, staved off a strong challenge to beat Sarita Mor, a Worlds bronze medallist in 59kg, 8-3 in the final.
Before Anshu’s travel to Japan and Sarita’s trip to the USA for training, the title clash assumed a lot of importance as both wrestlers are eyeing the 57kg spot in the upcoming Olympic qualifiers in April and May.
Anshu, who was mostly out of action after the Asian championships in April, where she landed a bronze in 57kg, gave dominating performances – claiming two bouts with technical superiority and one by pinning her opponent – to reach the final.
Sarita, who missed out on the Goa National Games due to fever, won her opening bout ‘by fall’ and the next two by an identical 10-0 margin.
In the summit clash, Anshu led 2-0 before Sarita narrowed the margin to 2-1 at the break.
Anshu exhibited her swiftness to effect a takedown and followed it with two spectacular two-pointers to go 8-1 up early in the second period. When Sarita showed aggression, Anshu’s knee withstood the pressure and she defended well to emerge victorious.
Sakshi Malik awards the gold medal to Vinesh Phogat for winning the 55kg category at 2023 Senior National Wrestling Championship in Jaipur on Sunday. | Photo Credit: Shashi Shekhar Kashyap/ The Hindu
Double Worlds medallist Vinesh Phogat made a successful return to competition after a knee surgery to win the 55kg gold medal.
A cautious Vinesh, barring her 3-0 win over Lalita in the quarterfinal, recorded commanding wins to overcome a mental barrier.
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