India's Antim Panghal won India's first medal at the World Wrestling Championships 2025 in Zagreb, Croatia. On September 19, Antim Panghal clinched bronze in the 53kg women’s freestyle category, making her only the second Indian woman, after Vinesh Phogat, to win multiple medals at the event.
Antim Panghal wins bronze medal at World Wrestling Championships
Panghal got the better of Sweden’s Jonna Malmgren, a two-time European champion, with a score of 9-1 in the bronze medal match. This was a repeat of her performance at the 2023 World Championships in Belgrade, where she also won bronze after beating Malmgren by technical superiority. The win continues a strong trend for Indian women's wrestling, with the country securing at least one medal in the last three World Championships.
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Antim Panghal's journey to the podium began with a dominant performance, as she defeated Carla Jaume Soler of Spain 10-0 by technical superiority in the pre-quarterfinals. The Indian wrestler then faced a tough challenge in the quarter-finals, where she narrowly beat Zhang Jin of the People’s Republic of China with a score of 9-8. However, her run for gold ended in the semifinals, where she lost 5-3 to Lucia Yepez of Ecuador, a silver medalist from the Paris 2024 Olympics.
In other events, Asian champion Manisha Bhanwala's campaign in the 62kg women’s freestyle came to an end. She was defeated 9-0 by Bulgaria's Bilyana Dudova in her repechage round, which ended her hopes of competing for a bronze medal. The struggles continued for India's Greco-Roman wrestlers, as none of the four competitors managed to win their bouts. Competing in the pre-quarterfinals, Anil Mor in the 55kg weight class lost to four-time world champion and current world number one Eldaniz Azizli of Azerbaijan, with a final score of 8-0. In the 77kg category, Aman was defeated 8-0 by technical superiority against Olympic champion Nao Kusaka of Japan in the round of 32.
The Indian team's struggles continued in other categories. In the 82kg, Rahul managed to score a single point but still lost 7-1 to Kazakhstan's Almir Tolebayev during qualification. In the 130kg, Sonu also fell to a defeat, losing 8-0 to Olympian Marko Koščević of Croatia. With a total of 30 gold medals up for grabs across men's freestyle, women's freestyle, and Greco-Roman events, India had entered a full squad with one competitor in each weight class. However, none of the male freestyle wrestlers were able to bring home a medal.