Polyak Imre & Varga Janos Memorial 2025: India wrestlers Antim, Harshita strike gold with imposing wins

Budapest [Hungary], July 19 (ANI): Olympian Antim Panghal and Harshita clinched gold medals following their remarkable victories in their respective weight categories at the Polyak Imre & Varga Janos Memorial 2025 wrestling tournament in Budapest.

India's women grapplers secured four medals on Friday, including two gold, a silver, and a bronze. Antim overwhelmed Russia's Natalia Malysheva with a 7-4 victory in the 53Kg final. Her emphatic triumph marked her second gold of the year after her success at the Ulaanbaatar Open in May.

In what turned out to be a rematch from the Paris 2024 Olympics, Antim kicked off her campaign with a commanding 10-0 win over Turkey's Zeynep Yetgil. In the Summer Games last year, Antim endured a heartbreaking defeat against the Turkish grappler with the same scoreline in their opening bout. Antim continued to reign supreme and pulled off another 10-0 win against America's Felicity Kay Taylor in the semi-finals to earn a chance to fight for gold.

Meanwhile, Harshita added a second gold of the day to India's medal tally. In the 72kg category after competing in the Nordic system, she was unrivalled and conquered four-time Asian champion Zhamila Bakbergenova of Kazakhstan in the final round. In the previous rounds, Harshita trounced France's Pauline Lecarpentier via disqualification and Kseniia Burakova via fall.

Neha Sangwan swallowed a bitter pill after settling for a silver in the 57kg category. She fell for a 4-0 loss via pinfall in the final against former Olympic champion Helen Maroulis of America. The 18-year-old ousted Kazakhstan's former junior world champion Nilufar Raimova with an imposing 7-2 in the quarter-finals. She continued her scorching form and drubbed Hungary's Roza Szenttamasi by 8-4 in the semi-finals.

In the women's 50kg category, Neelam claimed a bronze after beating Kseniya Stankevich. The Indian tasted success in a closely contested match against Canada's Madison Parks, winning 10-8 in qualification, but lost 10-0 to Elizaveta Smirnova in the quarter-finals. Neelam earned a shot at the bronze through the repechage round. She made the most of the opportunity and pummelled Nadezhda Sokolova by an 18-7 scoreline.

The impressive performances from wrestlers took India's medal tally at the Budapest meet to six. India won two medals on the opening day of the tournament with Sujeet Kalkal winning gold in the 65kg men's freestyle, while Rahul claimed bronze in the 57kg category. (ANI)

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