India at World Wrestling Championships 2022

India at World Wrestling Championships 2022 - A recap

This was the first time I had watched the World Wrestling Championships end to end and my interest was obviously in the Indian wrestling team which had a stupendous time in the 2022 Commonwealth Games at Birmingham. Now I am no wrestling expert, but I thought that the Indian team underperformed. If you look at the medals tally we ended up with the same number of medals as the 2021 edition where we had one silver and one bronze compared to the current edition where we managed to secure two bronze medals. But both of these tallies are behind the 2019 edition where we won five medals (1 silver and four bronze). Since 2018, at least one of the Indian wrestlers has been making it to the finals at these championships but that run was halted in 2022 which makes this edition the worst since 2017 where the team had won no medals at all.

The Disappointments

None of the winners from 2021 could build upon their success in this edition with last time's silver medalist Anshu Malik pulling out due to elbow surgery and bronze medalist Sarita Mor suffering a disappointing 0-7 loss to Anhelina Lysak from Poland
There was further heartbreak when Ravi Kumar Dahiya was knocked out by Gulomjon Abdullaev via technical superiority
There were points conceded at the very last moment which cost Pankaj (61 kg), Sanjeet (86 kg), Vicky (92 kg) and Viky (97 kg) their progress
Opponents from Japan, USA and Iran frequently found a way through their Indian counterparts through throws and leg attacks

The Medalists

Vinesh Phogat managed a bronze medal but she didn't look good in her opening match against Mongolia's Khulan Batkhuyag
Bajrang Punia was sensational in the bronze medal match but the head injury he suffered in the opening round might have cost him a crack at the gold just as the knee injury limited his chances at the 2020 Olympics

The Best Match

The best match in my opinion was the bronze medal bout between Bajrang and Puerto Rico's Sebastian Rivera. Rivera started with a leg attack and opened up a lead of 6 points before Bajrang evened it out with a four point throw and a takedown of his own. At the fag end of the first half, Rivera executed another takedown and led 8-6. The second half was a tactical affair with Rivera intent on not letting Bajrang score. But Bajrang kept up the pressure to score two takedowns and go up by 10-9. At the final bell, Rivera executed a throw which wasn't given and he promptly challenged it. The replay showed that the throw took place after the clock had winded down resulting in Bajrang's victory and a second medal for India on the final day of the championships.

Bajrang Punia at World Wrestling Championships 2022 <Courtesy: UWW>

Bajrang Punia during his repechage round <Courtesy: UWW>

Bajrang bronze medal bout world wrestling championships 2022 <Courtesy: UWW>

The Future

18 year old Sagar Jaglan and Nisha Dahiya who won three matches each to reach the bronze medal round deserve tremendous appreciation. Nisha in particular bossed all her opponents (results below) until the semifinal where she agonizingly fell short in a close match. The bronze medal was even more distressing where she lost by a fall after opening up a four point lead. I just hope these two along with Naveen Malik (who also deserves honorable mention for earning a shot at a medal) keep the flag flying for India in the coming years

Nisha Dahiya (68kg)

Qualifying: Beat Danute Domikaityte (LTU) 11-0

Round of 16: Beat Adela Hanzlickova (CZE) 13-8

Quarter-final: Beat Sofiya Georgieva (BUL) 11-0

Semi-final: Lost 5-4 to Ami Ishii (JPN)

Bronze medal bout: Lost by fall to Linda Morais (CAN)

Sagar Jaglan (74kg)

Round of 32: Beat Mitchell Louis Finesilver (ISR) 15-4

Round of 16: Beat Diego Antonio Sandoval Zarco (MEX) 13-2

Quarter-final: Lost 5-0 to Kyle Dake (USA)

Repechage: Beat Suldkhuu Olonbayar (MGL) 7-3

Bronze medal bout: Lost 6-0 to Yones Aliakbar Emamichoghaei (IRI)

Naveen Malik (70kg)

Qualifying: Lost 6-1 to Taishi Narikuni (JPN)

Repechage first round: Beat Syrbaz Talgat (KAZ) 11-3

Repechage second round: Walkover from Ilyas Bekbulatov (UZB)

Bronze medal bout: Lost 4-1 to Ernazar Akmataliev (KGZ)

So those were my thoughts friends about the World Wrestling Championships. What were yours? Do leave a comment.

Until Next Time,

Your Wrestling Superfan,

Chaitanya J.J.

Comments

Goran Ivanisevic: A hero for all seasons (Part 2)

The turn of the millennium signaled the business end of school for me. With the retirement of most of my favorites I no longer found the time to follow and watch tennis. But all of that was about to change with the comeback of a hero whom no one gave a chance. 2001 Wimbledon I had just finished school when the 2001 Wimbledon Championships rolled in. I had plenty of time on hand but had no interest in the championships as Pete Sampras the defending champion was in ominous form and with all due respect to Sampras I had no interest seeing him lift the trophy once again. Two days into Wimbledon I was extremely surprised and thrilled to know that Ivanisevic was playing in the championships on a wild card . By that point Ivanisevic had almost retired with a recurring shoulder injury. If a slump in form and fitness wasn't enough his father's heart problem and sister's cancer diagnosis pushed him to the edge. Ranked 125 in the world , his final attempt at glory was a ...

KBR National Park

In the midst of the hustle and bustle of the fifth largest city in India - Hyderabad lies KBR (Kasu Brahmananda Reddy) National Park . It's difficult to imagine a natural habitat in the center of a concrete jungle but that's exactly what KBR park is - an oasis in middle of an urban desert . One of Hyderabad's prized tourist attractions which in my opinion doesn't get the attention it deserves. The Entrance <Courtesy: Andhra Aroma > I don't remember when I first noticed the park but it soon became a sight which I couldn't miss during the course of my everyday commute to work. I always wondered what lay beyond the entrance but never found the time to check it out for myself until last year. But let me back up a bit, there's a back story to my first visit to the park. In my ' Count Your Blessings ' post, I talked about how a walk around my office building started a positive change in my life. That incident made ' walking ' ...

Zamarrud Theatre Hyderabad

More than two decades ago a 5 year old boy (yours truly) found himself in Abids which was certainly then the microcosm of Hyderabad. Abids in the 80s <Courtesy: OkaTeluguAbbayi > The occasion was a family outing to Zamarrud Cinema. And we are stepping out for not just any movie my friends, my parents decided that nothing less than the Raj Kapoor blockbuster Chori Chori was good enough for us. To be honest I wasn't exactly enthused about watching a black and white film of a bygone era even though the movie had all the credentials of a classic. But that was before I saw Zamarrud, the theatre where the movie was being played. Nested in the heart of Abids, Zamarrud was the perfect amalgamation of Hyderabad's old world charm and new fangled ways. Zamarrud was not just any theatre, it was one of the first air conditioned halls in Hyderabad, a premiere cinema hall which used to host the best of what the film industry had to offer and the place to go for Hyderabad...

Hyderabad a Biography by Narendra Luther

My 60th post had to bring me back to Hyderabad, the place where it all began. There are books which allow you to pass time and there are books which transport you into another time. ' Hyderabad a Biography ' by Mr. Narendra Luther belongs to the second category. I picked up this book a few years ago amidst intense work schedules and instantly fell in love with it for it's wit and charm. I've read books which either narrated history with gravity or recollected facts with solemnity but Mr. Luther's book was the first I read where history was recounted with generous sprinklings of humor. Plus how can I not love a book about Hyderabad, my hometown and one of the most vibrant cities on the face of earth. A city with a rich history of more than 1000 years and for centuries a melting point of cultures from all over the world . Here was a region which remained a country within a country long after India gained independence, braved it's period of turmoil and instabil...

Black Eagle (1988)

I have a soft corner in my heart for the action films of the eighties . I am also a huge fan of movies where stars are cast against type ( see Vera Cruz ). So, when I got a chance to watch 1988's Black Eagle pitting international action star Jean-Claude Van Damme as the 'villain' against acclaimed martial arts guru Sho Kosugi , I just couldn't let it pass by. Black Eagle 1988 Plot When a US F-111 jet carrying a laser tracking device goes missing in the Mediterranean, agent Ken Tani (Sho Kosugi) code-named ' Black Eagle ' is summoned to retrieve the device before the Soviet KGB acquires it. Ken unwillingly lands in Malta and is immediately targeted by Soviet Agent Andrei (Jean-Claude Van Damme). Will Ken acquire the tracking device? Who wins? (Guess that answer is obvious!) The Cliches Cliches are the life and soul of action movies. When you have a martial arts movie in the spy genre those cliches only double. So here are all the noteworthy cli...

Life Etc Etc

Search This Blog