After the Indian Greco-Roman wrestlers failed miserably, to get a Paris 2024 quota for the country at the World Wrestling Olympic Qualifiers, it was Nisha Dahiya who brought some semblance to the campaign. The 68kg category women’s wrestler was on top of her game in Istanbul on Friday, to secure fifth Olympics quota for India.
First Nisha Dahiya beat neutral athlete Alina Shauchuk 3-0 in the round of 16, and then edged past top seed Adela Hanzlickova of Czechia 7-4, in the quarters. Come the semis, she trounced Romania’s Alexandra Anghel 8-4, to get her hands on the Paris 2024 quota. Meanwhile, till now, all the five wrestling quotas for India have come by women — Antim Panghal (53kg), Vinesh Phogat (50kg), Anshu Malik (57kg), and Reetika Hooda (76kg).
On the other hand, another Indian grappler in the fray, Mansi Ahlawat lost in the Round of 16 of the 62kg category. She lost to Veranika Ivanova.
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India’s Greco-Roman wrestler Sunil Kumar came close to booking Paris berth, but was ousted in the repechage round, in the men’s 87kg category. Although he won his first repechage round against Greece’s Ilias Pagkalidis 10-3, he lost in the second to Sweden’s Alex Kessidis 4-9 in the next.
Now, the likes of Deepak Punia and Aman Sehrawat have the responsibility of having men’s representation at the Paris 2024 Games. The two are India’s best bets at the World Wrestling Olympic Qualifiers, and also medal contenders for the Olympics, if they do manage to go. Their bouts are scheduled for Saturday.
