Manisha Bhanwala Reaches 59kg Final, Tanu Sharma Wins Bronze at World Wrestling Championships

Indian wrestler Manisha Bhanwala stormed into the 59kg final, while Tanu Sharma secured a bronze medal in the 72kg category at the Senior World Wrestling Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan, on Thursday.

Manisha assured India of at least a silver medal after defeating Mongolia’s Bolortuya Khurelkhuu in the semifinals. She will face the USA’s Abigail Elizabeth Nette in the gold medal bout on Friday.

Earlier, Manisha began her campaign with a convincing 6-2 victory over Canada’s Laurence Beauregard in the pre-quarterfinals.

In the 72kg category, Tanu claimed bronze after defeating the USA’s Precious Rosanna Bell 9-5 in the third-place playoff.

Meanwhile, Ahilya Shinde bowed out in the quarterfinals of the 55kg category. She opened her campaign with an 8-1 win over Cuba’s Yaynelis Sanz Verdecia in the round of 16 but subsequently lost 6-9 to Türkiye’s Tuba Demir in the last-eight stage.

In men’s freestyle, Vicky Hooda remained in contention for a medal in the 97kg category. Although he suffered a 2-12 defeat against Japan’s Arash Yoshida in the quarterfinals by technical superiority, he entered the repechage after Yoshida advanced to the final.

However, Sujeet Kalkal’s campaign in the 65kg division came to an end. He narrowly lost his quarterfinal bout against Abdulmazhid Kudiev, with the contest ending 3-3 and Kudiev advancing on criteria.

Earlier, Kajal Dhochak and Neelam Sirohi had made history on Wednesday by becoming the first two Indian women to reach the finals at the same edition of the World Championships. Both finished with silver medals after losing their respective title bouts.

In the 76kg final, 18-year-old Kajal faced Ukraine’s Anastasiya Alpyeyeva. Making her senior World Championships debut after winning two U20 world titles, Kajal put up a strong fight but went down 6-8 in a closely contested bout.

In the 50kg final, 26-year-old Neelam took on Japan’s four-time world champion Yui Susaki. Neelam lost by fall after trailing 0-5.

The two silver medals marked a significant milestone for Indian women’s wrestling. Their achievement also added to the breakthrough made by Anshu Malik, who became the first Indian woman to reach a World Championships final in 2021.

Kajal had displayed remarkable resilience on her way to the final, recovering from a 1-7 deficit to defeat Kyrgyzstan’s Aiperi Medet Kyzy 10-7 in the semifinals.

Neelam also maintained her composure throughout the competition, securing her place in the final with a comfortable 7-3 victory over Kazakhstan’s Zeinep Bayanova.

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