Manisha Bhanwala becomes India's first women's world wrestling champion
Manisha Bhanwala became the first Indian woman to win gold at the Senior World Wrestling Championships on Friday, defeating the United States’ Abigail Elizabeth Nette 8-6 in the women's 59kg final. She staged a comeback from a 0-6 deficit to claim the title.
Before Manisha's victory, India had never produced a women's world champion at the global showpiece; she is only the second Indian overall to win a world gold after Sushil Kumar’s 66kg triumph in 2010. The result overcame a barrier that had eluded Anshu Malik in 2021, and followed silver-medal finishes by Manisha’s teammates Kajal Dhochak and Neelam Sirohi earlier in this edition.
The final opened in Nette’s favour when she scored a four-point throw. India challenged that call, lost the challenge and conceded an additional point, putting Nette ahead 5-0, and a caution against Manisha extended the lead to 6-0.
Manisha reduced the deficit with a stepout just before the break to pick up one point. She then executed a takedown that the United States challenged; the challenge was unsuccessful, which awarded Manisha an additional point and earned her the par terre position.
From 6-4, Manisha turned Nette with a gut-wrench for two points and attempted to secure a fall but was unsuccessful. With the score tied on criteria at 6-6, Manisha scored a pressure takedown to move 8-6 and then defended that lead to secure the gold medal.
In the men's events, Vicky Hooda’s campaign ended in the 97kg repechage when he lost 0-10 by technical superiority to Iranian wrestler Hassan Yazdani. Indian men competing in the 61kg, 70kg, 86kg and 125kg categories were eliminated in the preliminary stages and did not progress to Friday’s semi-finals.
Manisha’s gold brought a close to the Indian women’s campaign at the championships, with the contingent signing off with a total of four medals. India’s two world championship golds now stand as: Sushil Kumar (men’s freestyle 66kg) – 2010 and Manisha Bhanwala (women’s 59kg) – 2026.