By Manisha made history by becoming the first Indian woman to win gold at the Senior World Wrestling Championships. Her achievement came after a remarkable comeback in the final, where she overturned a six-point deficit to defeat USA’s Abigail Elizabeth Nette 8-6. During the felicitation, the Chief Minister congratulated her and encouraged her to set her sights on an Olympic medal.
Manisha Says CM Encouraged Her to Aim for Olympic Gold
Speaking after the ceremony, Manisha said she was proud of the achievement and grateful for the support and encouragement she had received from the Haryana government.
She recalled that Chief Minister Saini praised her performance but also urged her to aim higher, expressing confidence in her ability to become an Olympic champion.
“I feel very proud, and I consider myself truly fortunate to have achieved this. It feels wonderful. Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini congratulated me and remarked that I have performed my best so far, but encouraged me to aim even higher. He said I have the potential to become a world champion and an Olympic champion,” she said.
Manisha added that the Chief Minister advised her to remain focused and expressed hope that she would win an Olympic medal for the country. She said the encouragement had made her very happy.
Historic Comeback Puts Indian Women’s Wrestling on the Map
Hailing from Siwaha village in Haryana’s Jind district, Manisha produced one of the standout performances of the championships in the 59kg final. She was trailing 0-6 against Nette before fighting back to secure an 8-6 victory and claim the historic title.
Before Manisha’s triumph, India had never won a gold medal in the women’s category at the Senior World Wrestling Championships. The country’s previous best result was Anshu Malik’s silver medal in 2021.
India also had two other silver-medal finishes in this year’s competition, with Kajal Dhochak and Neelam Sirohi finishing runners-up.
India Finishes Women’s Competition With Four Medals
Manisha’s gold led India’s four-medal haul in the women’s competition. Kajal Dhochak and Neelam Sirohi won silver medals, while Tanu Sharma secured bronze in the 72kg category.
The Indian women’s team finished the championships with one gold, two silver and one bronze, marking a significant achievement for the country’s wrestling programme.
India’s men’s freestyle campaign, however, had a mixed outcome. Vicky Hooda was eliminated from the 97kg repechage after suffering a 0-10 defeat to Iran’s Hassan Yazdani by technical superiority. Indian wrestlers in the 61kg, 70kg, 86kg and 125kg categories also exited during the preliminary rounds.
