During the
Asian Wrestling Olympic Qualifiers 2024, Vinesh Phogat, Anshu Malik, and
Reetika Hooda secured three different national quotas in women’s wrestling for
the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Bishkek
(Kyrgyzstan) hosted the Asian Wrestling Olympic Qualifiers 2024 between April
19 and 21. While Vinesh Phogat secured the Indian Paris 2024 quota in the
women’s 50kg category, Anshu Malik and Reetika Hooda secured the Indian Paris
2024 quotas in the women’s 57kg and women’s 76kg, respectively.
Indian Paris 2024 Quota: Vinesh Phogat secured in the women’s 50kg category
In the women’s
50kg qualifier, Vinesh Phogat defeated the Republic of Korea’s Miran Cheon by
10-0 via technical superiority.
In the
quarterfinals, Phogat pinned Samnang Dit from Cambodia to reach the quota bout
semi-finals.
Phogat faced
Kazakh Laura Ganikyzy in the semi-finals and beat her via technical superiority
(10-0) to secure the Indian Paris 2024 Olympics quota in the women’s 50kg
category.
Indian Paris 2024 Quota: Anshu Malik secured in the women’s 57kg category
After
thrashing her Kyrgyzstan opponent Kalmira Bilimbek Kyzy in the quarter-finals
(12-1), Anshu Malik secured the national quota by beating Uzbekistan’s
Laylokhon Sobirova via technical superiority (11-0) in the semi-finals to seal
the Indian Paris 2024 quota in the women’s 57 kg category.
Indian Paris 2024 Quota: Reetika Hooda secured in the women’s 76kg category
In the women’s
76kg category, Reetika Hooda started in a group with her opponents, South
Korean Eunju Hwang, Mongolian Davaanasan Enkh Amar, and Chinese Juan Wang.
Hooda won all three battles to qualify for the semi-finals.
In the
semi-finals, Chinese Taipei’s Hui Tsz Chang was the challenger against Reetika
Hooda, where the Indian wrestler won by 7-0 to book the Indian Paris 2024 quota
in the women’s 76kg category.
With these successful performances,
India has now confirmed four Paris 2024 quotas in wrestling. Antim Panghal was the first Indian
to secure a national quota for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
During the World Wrestling Championships 2023 in Belgrade (Serbia), Antim Panghal won the bronze medal in the women’s 53kg event to secure the Indian Paris 2024 quota.
