Manisha Bhanwala scripts history, becomes India's first woman world champion in wrestling

Astana: Manisha Bhanwala etched her name in the annals of Indian sports history on Friday, becoming the first woman from the country to strike gold at the Senior World Wrestling Championships after a thrilling victory in the 59kg final.

Competing in a high-stakes title clash against USA's Abigail Elizabeth Nette, Manisha displayed immense grit and tactical brilliance to emerge victorious after a daunting comeback (0-6) and went on to win the bout 8- 6, shattering the glass ceiling for Indian women's wrestling, according to a press release from the Senior World Wrestling Championships.

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Before Manisha's monumental triumph, India had never won a gold medal in women's wrestling at the global showpiece. She finally crossed the hurdle that had previously eluded Anshu Malik in 2021, as well as her current teammates Kajal Dhochak and Neelam Sirohi, who both settled for silver medals earlier in this edition.

Manisha's historic gold brings a fitting, glorious end to a spectacular campaign for the Indian women's contingent, which signs off with an impressive haul of four medals.

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In the men's freestyle competition, Vicky Hooda's campaign came to a close in the 97kg repechage round. Going up against Iranian heavyweight Hassan Yazdani, Vicky was handed a 0-10 defeat by technical superiority.

Meanwhile, the Indian men's freestyle campaign in the 61kg, 70kg, 86kg, and 125kg categories also concluded in the preliminary stages, with the grapplers bowing out before Friday's semi-finals.

India won four medals at the 2026 World Championships, with Manisha Bhanwala winning a Gold medal in the 59 kg category. Kajal Dhochak and Neelam Sirohi secured Silver medals for India, whereas Tanu Sharma took home a Bronze medal in the 72 kg category.