Her senior Sakshi Malik won a bronze medal at the Rio Olympics, but India's cadet wrestler Manisha, fighting in the 16-17 age group category, has done better, winning the gold in the 38kg category for women at the wrestling Cadet World Championship in Tbilis, Georgia on Thursday.
Manisha beat Bulgaria’s Petya Zarkova Delcheva 5-4 to win the final. She took an early 3-0 lead within the first minutes of the bout, lunging aggressively at her opponent's legs and bringing her down to the floor for her points. She spent the rest of the first round in attack mode, with Delcheva defending grimly.
The second round began on a different note, however, as the Bulgarian attacked aggressively, notching up two points and two again to establish a 4-3 lead. With time ticking by, Manish launched one final aggressive bid, which saw her regain her lead with a two-point manoeuvre. That was where the match ended, giving Manisha her gold.
Manisha's achievement was all the more remarkable because, unlike Delcheva, she had to come into the quarter-final through a qualifying round. The cadet category for women features wrestlers in the 16-17 age group, with 15-year-olds also being allowed to participate with special permission.
Manisha's journey to the final was in contrasting style. In the semi-final (video above) she defeated Valeriia Chistobaeva of Russia 6-2, building a 4-0 lead in the first round.
Manisha's quarter-final against Shehane Nazarova of Azerbaijan looked like a tough proposition as her opponent attacked from the word go (video above). But in the process of defending staunchly, Manisha had to face a passivity "shot clock" situation, being given 30 seconds to either score or lose a point.
The Indian took the opportunity to score her first two points with the time running down on the clock. In the second round, Nazarova renewed her onslaught, but once again Manisha defended with great skill, and turned the tables on her opponent with a fall that fetched her two points and ended the contest.
Not getting a bye into the quarter-final (nor did Nazarova), Manisha had to fight Caitlyn Ann Walker of the USA in the qualifying round. It was the easiest of her victories, as she ran roughshod over her adversary to win 9-0 on points.