Key Points
Reetika defeats Japan's Yamamoto before silver loss to Kyrgyzstan
Muskan bounces back for 59kg bronze
Mansi Lather dominates for 68kg bronze
India totals 5 medals so far
On Day 3 of the competition, the focus shifted to women's wrestling, in which Indian grapplers delivered a commendable performance, with Reetika winning a silver while Muskan and Mansi Lather secured a bronze medal each.
The standout performer of the day was Reetika, who won India's first silver medal in the championship. She began her campaign with a dominant 10-0 victory over South Korea's Seoyeon Jeong in the qualification round.
In a major upset, she went on to defeat Japan's strong contender, Nodoka Yamamoto, by fall in the semifinal. However, in a closely fought gold medal bout, she narrowly lost 6-7 to Kyrgyzstan's Aiperi Medet Kyzy, settling for Silver.
Thursday's first bronze medal for India came from Muskan (59kg). She started with a 10-0 win against Arian G. Carpio (Philippines) but faced a tough 12-2 loss against Japan's Sakura Onishi. However, she made a strong comeback in the bronze medal match, defeating Mongolia's Altjin Togtokh 4-0.
The second bronze medal was secured by Mansi Lather (68kg). She dominated Chinese Taipei's Sheng F. Cai 10-0 in her opening bout. Her next match was against a Japanese wrestler, but due to an injury, she advanced to the semifinal, where she lost 1-10 to China's Zelu Li. Undeterred, she fought back in the Bronze Medal bout, defeating Kazakhstan's Irina Kazyulina 12-2.
The President of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) expressed satisfaction with the team's performance, stating that Indian wrestling is getting back on track after a challenging two years.
So far, India has won a total of five medals (1 silver and 4 bronze) in the championship. Of these, two bronze medals came in Greco-Roman format with Sunil Kumar and Nitesh finishing third in men's 87 and men's 97 kg weight divisions respectively.
Looking ahead, the excitement continues as top women grapplers Antim, Manisha, and Jyoti Berwal will compete in their respective categories on Friday, with more medal opportunities for India.
