India’s Pooja Gehlot (53kg) ensured the country’s second medal at the 2019 UWW Under-23 Senior World Championships on Thursday in Budapest, Hungary after storming into the final while Jyoti (50 kg) missed out on bronze medal.
Jyoti’s hopes of clinching the bronze medal came to an abrupt end as Russia’s Nadezhda Sokolova took just 150 seconds to pick up 10 unanswered points to win by technical superiority.
Earlier, Gehlot put together a string of good results to reach the summit clash. It was a fantastic display overall from the youngster who started from the qualifying stages, where she demolished Ekaterina Verbina of Russia 8-3.
In the quarter-finals, Gehlot blazed through her bout, notching up a commanding 8-0 win to set up a semi-final showdown against Zeynep Yetgil, gold medallist at the Junior European Wrestling Championships in 2018.
The semi-final was rollercoaster affair. Gehlot opened up an early 2-0 lead and finished the first period of three minutes holding on to that advantage. But the Turkish wrestler started the second half in style, going up 4-2.
But Gehlot stormed back with a superb move to clinch three points, followed by a two-pointer as she moved into a 7-4 lead with just a few seconds left. There was a challenge from Turkey coach that was unsuccessful, giving the Indian a 8-4 advantage with the clock winding down. Gehlot held on despite a late charge from Yetgil.
Gehlot is the second Indian to reach the final at this edition after Ravinder opened the contingent’s account on Wednesday with a silver medal in men’s 61kg category. Gehlot has a chance to create history by becoming the first Indian to win gold at this event (which started in 2017) when she takes on Japan’s Haruna Okuno on Friday.
In 57kg, Pinki Rani advanced to the quarters from the qualifiers after registering a one-sided 5-0 victory over Arian Geralin Carpio of the USA. But her run came to an end in the last-eight at the hands of Hannah Fay Taylor, who edged her 2-1 in a gritty contest.
None of the other Indians in action pn Thursday could win a round. While Ukraine’s Ilona Prokopevniuk was declared a 2-0 winner by fall over Reshma Mane in 62kg, Nisha exited with a 3-11 loss to Maya Gabriella Nelson of the USA in 65kg. In 72kg, Naina suffered the same fate when she was shown the door by Cuba’s Milaimys de la Caridad Marin Potrille after a 13-3 victory.
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