Antim Panghal clinches bronze medal; opens India’s account in World Wrestling Championships

Antim Panghal has won a bronze medal in the World Wrestling Championships in Zagreb, on September 18. She got the better of Sweden’s Emma Jonna Denise Malmgren 9-1 in the women’s 53-kg segment playoffs. She has become the country’s first and only freestyle medalist this year to win a medal. The 21-year-old lost a close semi-final game against Ecuador’s Lucia Yepez, the Paris Olympic silver medallist. However, despite the defeat, Antim got the chance to compete for bronze through repecharge.

In her bronze medal contest, Antim exhibited her brilliant attacking and defending skills to stop Malmgren from countering effectively. In the opening round, Panghal took a 3-0 lead following a successful take down and a push out. In the second and final rounds,

she extended her leads through counterattacks and take downs to win the contest. With this success, she became the only Indian woman alongside Vinesh Phogat to bag two world medals.

Antim Panghal’s rivalry against Malmgren

Antim Panghal’s rivalry with Malmgren isn’t new. She won her last bronze in the previous edition of World Wrestling Championships against the Swedish. The 21-year-old won that game by a margin of 16-6. In 2024, Malmgren defeated Antim by 4-0 but Panghal’s recent win shows that she stands tall on big stages. Antim’s latest bronze finish has helped India maintain their streak of winning at least one medal at the World Wrestling Championships since 2018.

On one side, Antim looked extraordinary and won the medal for India while her compatriots Manish Bhanwala was defeated 0-9 by Bulgaria’s Bilyana Dudova in the 62kg weight division, while Priya Malik tasted a bitter loss against Cuba’s Paris Olympics medalist Milaimys Marin in the 76kg category. With the defeat against Marin, Priya concluded her campaign in the tournament in fifth place.