Manisha clinches gold in World Cadet Wrestling C'ship

Manisha defeated Petya Zarkova Delcheva of Bugaria 5-4 in the final of the 38kg freestyle category to win the gold in World Cadet Wrestling Championship in Tbilis, Georgia, on Thursday.

Manisha celebrates after winning a gold in the 38kg category of World Cadet Wrestling Championship, in Tbilis, Bulgaria on Thursday.

India's Manisha beat Petya Zarkova Delcheva of Bulgaria 5-4 in the final to claim the women’s 38kg gold medal in the World Cadet Wrestling Championship in Tbilis, Georgia, on Thursday.

Manisha began the final strongly, going up 3-0 in the first minute. She slackened up midway to allow her opponent to come back in the four-minute bout. Heading into the final minute, Manisha was trailing 3-4 but managed to pin her opponent to the floor and grab two crucial points with just 10 seconds left on the clock.

The win was all the more sweet because Manisha had to make her way into the knockout round of the World Championship via a qualification round.

Manisha defeated Caityin Walker of the USA (9-0), Shahana Nazarova of Azerbaijan (by fall), Valerila Chistobaeva of Russia (6-2) on her way to the title clash.