Pooja Dhanda added to the elation in the Indian camp by reaching the semi-finals in 59kg, at the World Wrestling championships in Nur-Sultan.
Pooja, who won a bronze at the 2018 Worlds in Budapest, turned it around remarkably against Japan’s Yuzuka Inagaki after trailing 0-5.
She got back in the match but was still behind 4-7. From there, the Indian pulled off a sensational move, slipping from under the Japanese to take her back for a take-down.
With just 40 seconds left, Pooja was still behind but pulled off a four-point move to take the lead and then held on to that to ensure her passage into semifinals.
She beat Belarus’ Katsiaryna Hanchar by technical superiority in her pre-quarterfinal and now faces Russian Liubov Ovcharova, the 2017 European champion.
Pooja had become only the fourth Indian to win a Worlds medal at Budapest last year and now can become the first female wrestler to win two.
(With PTI inputs)
