World Wrestling Championships: Vinesh Phogat Wins Bronze In Women's 53kg Defeating Sweden's Emma Malmgren

India's Vinesh Phogat made history at the World Wrestling Championships in Belgrade on Wednesday as she joined an elite list of Indian wrestlers to win multiple medals at the marquee event. She beat Sweden's Emma Malmgren 8-0 to win the bronze medal. It was her second medal at the World Championships. She had earlier won bronze in the 2019 edition too. Vinesh, a triple Commonwealth Games champion, is the first Indian female wrestler to win two medals at the World Championships. 

It was a remarkable comeback for Vinesh after her shock qualification round defeat to 2022 Asian championships silver medalist Khulan Batkhuyag of Mongolia. The Indian wrestler trailed Batkhuyag 3-0 at the end of the opening round and conceded another four points in the final moments to lose the bout.

Khulan Batkhuyag stormed through to the final by winning her next matches, thus giving Vinesh a shot at the bronze medal. However, the road was not easy for Vinesh as he had to win three repechage round matches on her way to claiming the medal.

In her first repechage match on Wednesday, she defeated 2018 Asian Games silver medallist Zhuldyz Eshimova of Kazakhstan by 4-0. She attained a Victory by Fall (VFA). Her next match saw her win against Azerbaijan's Leyla Gurbanova on basis of Win by injury (VIN). After winning this match, she progressed to the bronze medal match.

Also, 2021 World U-23 bronze medalist Nisha Dahiya will be wrestling for a bronze medal. Nisha had advanced to the semi-final after winning over Bulgaria's Sofiya Hristova Georgieva. She attained a win on basis of Superiority aka Technical Fall (VSU) by 11-0.

But in the semifinal, she lost to Ami Ishii of Japan by 5-4 on basis of VPO1 (Points and the opponent scores). She will have to contest for the bronze medal. Her opponent is not decided yet.

The 2022 World Wrestling Championships started in Belgrade on September 10 and will go on till September 18.