Nisha Dahiya reaches final, secures Paris berth

Istanbul, May 10

Nisha Dahiya became the fifth Indian woman wrestler to qualify for the Paris Olympics after prevailing over Romania’s Alexandra Anghel in the 68kg semifinals at the world Olympics qualifiers here today. This will be the first time India will have five women wrestlers at the quadrennial extravaganza.

Nisha, a world U-23 bronze medallist and Asian Championships silver medal winner, beat Anghel 8-4 to enter the final. Nisha zoomed to 8-0 with a flurry of attacks in the first period. The second period was all about defence. The Romanian, who is a silver medal winner at the European Championship, woke up from her slumber to launch attacks and had Nisha in trouble. Nisha, though, did well to defend her lead.

Nisha had earlier defeated Belarusian teenager Alina Shauchuk, competing as an independent athlete, 3-0 to secure a place in the quarterfinal. The 25-year-old then overcame the challenge of Czech Republic’s ninth-ranked Adela Hanzlickova, a multiple European Championships medallist, winning 7-4 to book a place in the semifinals.

Nisha trains in Rohtak at the famous Sir Chhotu Ram stadium where Sakshi Malik also trained.

However, Mansi (62kg) came up against a far superior opponent in eighth-ranked Belarusian opponent Veranika Ivanova, who achieved a victory by fall in the pre-quarterfinal round with 25 seconds remaining on the timer.