Indian wrestler Aman Sehrawat qualified for the semi-finals with a stunning display in the men’s 57kg quarter-finals on Thursday at the Paris Olympics. Aman stormed into the semi-finals with a chance to compete for a medal after securing a 12-0 technical superiority win over Albania’s Zelimkhan Abakanov.
Aman will face Japan’s Rei Higuchi later on Thursday for a chance to compete for India’s first gold medal at the Paris Olympics. He earned his first point in the bout due to passivity from the Albanian wrestler and followed up with a takedown to take a 3-0 lead in the first period. In the second period, he outplayed Abakanov with his remarkable skillset, securing his place in the final four.
Earlier on Thursday, Aman defeated former European champion Vladimir Egorov with a 10-0 technical superiority win in the first round to reach the quarter-finals.
However, not all Indian wrestlers had a successful day at the Paris Olympics. Vinesh Phogat was disqualified before the 50 kg freestyle wrestling final after breaching the weight limit. Following her disqualification, she announced her retirement from wrestling.
Anshu Malik, competing in the women’s 57 kg freestyle category, lost to the USA’s Helen Maroulis by a score of 2-7. Nisha Dahiya’s campaign at the Paris Olympics also ended in disappointment as she succumbed to North Korea’s Pak Sol Gum in the quarter-finals of the women’s 68 kg event. Nisha faced an 8-10 loss to Sol Gum; at one point, she was leading 8-2, but an injury forced her to take medical timeouts, which Sol Gum capitalized on to make a comeback.
Antim Panghal lost to Zeynep Yetgil of Turkey in the women’s 53 kg freestyle round of 16 bout. The Turkish wrestler, a U23 European Championship bronze medallist, won by technical superiority.
(With ANI Inputs)
