...But advances to repechage round after Batkhuyag makes the final
NEW DELHI: Vinesh Phogat wouldn't have got an easier chance to claim the World Championships title which is missing from her trophy cabinet since she began wrestling 10 years ago. The field was open for Vinesh to conquer after the biggest threat standing between her and the women's freestyle 53kg title - Japan's reigning champion Akari Fujinami - had pulled out of the Worlds in Belgrade (Serbia) due to a left foot injury.
The Indian would have fancied her chances against Asian silver medallist Khulan Batkhuyag of Mongolia and bronze medallist Zhuldyz Eshimova to set up a meeting with Romanian world silver medallist Iulia Leorda But on Tuesday, Vinesh, fresh from her exploits in Birmingham where she won her career's third CWG gold, went down tamely 7-0 to Batkhuyag in the qualification round to mark another disappointing outing at the Worlds, where she had won the bronze in 2019.
However, Vinesh booked her place in the repechage round after the Mongolian entered the final following her win over Sweden's Emma Jonna Denise Malmgren 6-2.
The loss to Batkhuyag is yet another setback in Vinesh's journey after her shock defeat to Belarusian Vanesa Kaladzinskaya at the Tokyo Olympics 13 months ago. In between, she battled depression, thoughts of retirement, injuries and an elbow surgery before returning to the competition mat in Istanbul in late February.
The only professional high she tasted during this period was the defence of her CWG crown in Birmingham. To put things in perspective, Vinesh faced no competition at the recent CWG, where she won all her three bouts in the Nordic system before defeating a young clueless Sri Lankan, Chamodya Keshani Maduravalage, in the final bout to claim the women's 53 kg gold.
For Vinesh, her real test after the Tokyo low was the Belgrade Worlds. But she failed in her endeavour. Other Indians in the fray, Neelam Sirohi (50kg), Shafali (65kg) and Sushma Shokeen (55kg) lost their respective bouts.
