Antim Panghal’s highly anticipated Olympic debut at Paris 2024 came to an abrupt end on Wednesday as she was defeated in the first round of the women’s 53kg wrestling event at the Champ-de-Mars Arena.
The two-time junior world champion and senior World Championships bronze medallist lost 10-0 to Turkiye’s Zeynep Yetgil. Who is a two-time European Championships bronze winner. Seeded fourth in the competition, Panghal faced a challenging bout against Yetgil, who started aggressively. The Turkish wrestler quickly took control with a takedown and then added a series of points to finish the match 10-0 on technical superiority within just 90 seconds.
Panghal’s opportunity to compete for a bronze medal through the repechage was also dashed when Yetgil was defeated by Germany’s Annika Wendle in the next round.
Panghal earned her Paris 2024 Olympic spot by securing a bronze medal at the World Championships last year. Where she replaced veteran Vinesh Phogat as India’s top wrestler in the 53kg weight class. Panghal also defended her U-20 world title last year and clinched a bronze medal at the Asian Games 2023.
India’s wrestling squad at the Paris 2024 Olympics includes six athletes. Nisha Dahiya was eliminated in the quarter-finals of the women’s 68kg event on Monday. Vinesh Phogat reached the final in the women’s 50kg division but was disqualified after failing the weigh-in on Wednesday.
Looking ahead, Aman Sehrawat will compete in the men’s freestyle 57kg division on Thursday. While Anshu Malik will start her campaign in the women’s 57kg category. Reetika Hooda will be in action in the women’s 76kg division on Saturday.
