Watch: Wrestler Anshu Malik wins silver at Individual World Cup, India’s first medal at the event

Indian wrestler Anshu Malik bagged the country’s first medal at the Individual World Cup in Belgrade, Serbia, as she finished second in the women’s 57kg category.

The 19-year-old lost in the final of the women’s 57kg category against Moldova’s Anastasia Nichita.

Nichita earned her country’s first gold with a 5-1 victory over world No 7 Anshu. The Moldovan wrestler led 1-0 at the halfway point and that forced Anshu to come out attacking in the second period. But that resulted in a strong counterattack from Nichita, ranked 10th in the world, as she scored a two-point exposure with a throw before adding a takedown midway through the final period.

Anshu tried hard to force her way back into the bout, trying to push Nichita out of bounds before trying a move on her ankles too, but nothing paid off for the Indian youngster.

The silver medal, however, meant that Anshu has won a medal at each of the three international tournaments she’s competed in, according to ESPN India. The Asian Championships bronze medallist has built a reputation as one of India’s most promising young wrestlers and she showed that again with a run to the final after three impressive wins earlier on in this tournament.

Anshu Malik’s run at the World Cup:

Final: Anastasia NICHITA (MDA) df. Anshu ANSHU (IND), 5 - 1
SF: Anshu ANSHU (IND) df. Veronika CHUMIKOVA (RUS), 7 - 4 (win by fall)
QF: Anshu ANSHU (IND) df. Laura MERTENS (GER), 3 - 1
Qual: Anshu ANSHU (IND) df. Alyona KOLESNIK (AZE), 4 - 2

The 57kg is an Olympic category where India have not earned a quota for the Tokyo Olympics yet and this result will come as a shot in the arm for the youngster.

You can watch Anshu’s bouts here:

With the pandemic situation not allowing trials, the WFI let all the participants at the 2020 Asian Championship in New Delhi to compete in Belgrade, PTI had reported.