Credit: X
Indian wrestlers Aman Sehrawat and Anshu Malik had mixed results in the pre-quarterfinal bouts in their respective categories at the Paris Olympics 2024. The Indian wrestling contingent has had a horrific Summer Games as Vinesh Phogat was disqualified from the final of the Women's 50 kg freestyle event after failing to make weight.
Nisha Dahiya suffered an arm injury in her bout which resulted in her defeat and one of the favourites, Antim Phagal, was knocked out with a 0-10 loss in her opening round. But restoring faith in the Indian wrestlers, Aman Sehrawat registered a dominant 10-0 victory over North Macedonia's Vladimir Egorov in the Men's 57 kg freestyle event.
Unfortunately for Anshu Malik, the Indian women’s 57kg competitor suffered a 7-2 loss against the United States’s Helen Louise Maroulis. Malik never managed to establish herself in this bout as the American zoomed into a 6-0 lead before the Indian picked up a few points which weren't enough.
Before these fights, Vinesh Phogat took th headlines as she announced her retirement from wrestling after a gruelling experience at the Paris Olympics. The 29-year-old Vinesh had become the first Indian woman wrestler to reach an Olympic final in wrestling. In a social media post in the wee hours of Thursday morning, Vinesh posted on her X account: “Mother wrestling, you’ve beaten me. Forgive me. My dreams are shattered. My courage is broken. I don’t have any more strength now.”
