New Delhi | Easily the most successful wrestler among the contenders at the World Championship trials, Antim Panghal sealed her berth in the Indian team without much fuss in the women's 53kg weight class while Vaishnavi Patil (65kg) and Manisha Bhanwala (62kg) also qualified with impressive show, here Sunday.
All of 20 and already a medal winner at the senior Worlds, Asian Games and the Asian Championships, Antim outplayed Madhya Pradesh's Pooja and Gujarat's Hinaben without conceding a point to emerge winner.
She had made headlines by becoming the country's first U20 World champion in 2022 and also qualified for the 2024 Paris Games but she returned from the Olympics surrounded in controversy.
She not only faded on the mat in Paris, but also courted a major controversy by sending her sister to the Games Village on her accreditation card. The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) contemplated disciplinary action but stopped short.
Recently, she wanted to train abroad with her personal coach but WFI shot down the proposal and asked her to train at the national camp.
Asked about the tough time she endured after the Paris Olympics, Antim admitted making "mistakes" but insisted it was solely due to lack of awareness rather than some mischief on her part.
"The federation did not have any issue with me. There was confusion, I also made mistake. I did not realise that it was getting out of hand. Olympics is different from Asian Games and World Championships. I did not know much.
"There was a Games village, which was also there at the Asian Games but we had stayed at a hotel in the Asian Games (Hangzhou), there was confusion, I had never experienced such an environment. There was pressure and I spoilt my bouts due to that," she said.
"Then I was asked to be at the camp. The federation has been helpful, I was sent to two tournaments where I won gold."
Antim said, she never gets over-confident.
"I never take things for granted. Bouts can go either way. A few times, I have played into the hands of my rivals instead of following my own style but I have made amends now."
The wrestler from Hisar said training at the national camp is equally good.
"I get good sparring partners in 55 and 57kg categories, if not in my 53kg category."
As is her style, Antim stayed aggressive with her tactics during the trials on Sunday at the IG Stadium.
Her double-leg attack strategy worked against Pooja and she overpowered Hinaben with right-leg attacks in the final.
Antim employed the 'fitley' at the first opportunity to roll Pooja thrice to race to a 6-0 lead. The move caused a knee injury to her rival, who could not continue after that.
While Hinaben fought well against Juli, Antim proved to be a very tough nut to crack. Antim was technically and tactically more sound as she won the bout by technical superiority.
It's largely a young team with only a few 20-plus wrestlers, who have qualified for the Worlds, set to be held in Zagreb from September 13-21.
Not many entries were received, making for small-sized draws.
Yet, the 65kg class offered some stiff competition in which Maharashtra's Vaishnavi Patil won. Competing against Freedom Yadav, she trailed 0-4 only to win 10-6, while she trumped Muskan 7-2.
Vaishnavi's fast movement, solid defence, counter attacks and the ability to turn adverse situation to her advantage worked very well for her.
In the 62kg category, only Manisha and Mansi Ahlawat competed and the former prevailed 2-0. The two were largely engaged in standing wrestling. Manisha succeeded in overpowering Mansi, never letting her make her moves.
In 72kg, Jyoti erased a huge 0-6 deficit to pip Harshita 11-6 while in 76kg, Priya Malik beat seasoned Kiran 4-2.
The other winners were: Ankush (50kg), Nishu (55kg), Tapasya (57kg), Neha (59kg), and Srishti (68kg).
New Delhi | Vaishnavi Patil stands out with her speed and tremendous mat awareness at the selection trials for the upcoming World Championships.
She outwits her rivals one by one to seal her place in the national team in the women's 65kg category for next month's Worlds, scheduled to be held in Zagreb.
Seeing her tactical acumen and solid defence, it is hard to believe that she has pursued mat wrestling for only four years and hardly has any big-tournament exposure in the past.
Usually, it is a transition phase from junior to senior level for Indian wrestlers, who get battle hardened by competing in domestic events, then move to the Asian level, add more exposure by gradually shifting to senior international tournaments, Asian championships and then comes the chance to compete at the Worlds.
The daughter of a dhaba owner in Kalyan in Mumbai, Vaishnavi, though has surged to top level in the country in double-quick time after beginning quite late.
"I started mat wrestling around the end of 2020. Before that I was doing only mud wrestling. When I saw Sakshi Malik win that medal in 2016 Rio, I decided what I needed to do, I just wanted to pursue this sport," Vaishnavi told PTI after outplaying Muskan 7-2 in the final.
"My father runs a dhaba and my mother is a housewife. My parents are managing everything for me. There weren't many good academies in Maharashtra, so I shifted to Hisar," said the 22-year-old, who trains under coach Jasbeer at the Sushil Kumar Akahada.
Vaishnavi idolises American wrestler Helen Maroulis, the 2016 Olympic champion, bronze winner at the Tokyo (2021)and Paris Games (2024), and seven-time Worlds medallist.
"She is an amazing wrestler. I watch her bouts on YouTube. I want to do well for myself and for the country. I am confident of winning a medal at the Worlds and eventually I want to win an Olympic medal."
Coach Jasbeer says discouraging Vaishbavi from visiting her home quite often in Maharashtra has brought about a sea change in her progress.
"She used to stay here for two-three months in Hisar and go back to her native place for two months. I told her parents that she needs to be at the training centre for one year. They agreed and she is a very dedicated wrestler, and the result is there," Jasbeer told PTI.
"She is very disciplined, she works very hard. We have good wrestlers at our centre and practicing with them has also helped her. She is technically sound and her counter-attacks are pretty good."
Interestingly, Vaishnavi began as a swimmer and even won two medal at the state level. Attending a felicitation function for wrestler and seeing the kind of respect the achievers got, hooked her to the combat sport.
"When she was in class IX, she said she wanted to become a fighter pilot and serve the country. We searched for training centres, but realising that her eyesight number was 9.7, we knew she wouldn't make it.
"We put her in swimming and one day she said she wants to change the sport. The centres were far away in Kolaba, Sangli, Satara and we did not want to send her too far. But seeing her passion, we introduced her to Jasbeer sir and sent her to Hisar," Vaishnavi's father Dilip Patil told PTI.
"Initially, her mother stayed with her, taking care of her needs. I run a dhaba near the bus stop in our village and all our earning go into her training. My bank balance is zero. I manage my house with some income from farming but all the dhaba earning is transferred to Vaishnavi.
"She showed promise quite early During her first competition, without much training she won a silver in the junior state competition and then won back-to-back gold. We speak to her only once, on Sunday as she is not allowed to keep a mobile phone by the coaches at the akhada," said Patil.
Moving to Haryana, Vaishnavi had to make a few adjustment as Maharashtra has a completely different culture.
"Most people do not eat non-vegetarian food in Haryana. They rely more on milk, curd, all these things. Ghee, almonds, and all dairy products have been added to my diet, though I continue to take non-veg food. I now understand Haryanvi as well," said Vaishnavi with a big smile.
