Manisha Bhanwala reaches 59kg final; Tanu Sharma wins 72kg bronze at World Wrestling Championships 2026

Manisha Bhanwala reached the 59kg final and Tanu Sharma secured a bronze in the 72kg category at the World Wrestling Championships 2026 on Thursday. Manisha’s semi-final victory over Mongolia’s Bolortuya Khurelkhuu guaranteed India at least a silver medal.

Manisha opened her campaign with a 6-2 win against Canada’s Laurence Beauregard in the pre-quarterfinals before advancing through the draw to the last four. Tanu progressed to the podium rounds in the 72kg division and moved into the bronze medal match after her earlier matches in the competition.

Tanu Sharma won the bronze medal in the women’s 72kg category with a 9-5 victory over USA’s Precious Rosanna Bell in the third-place bout. TANU SHARMA WINS THE BRONZE MEDAL AT WORLD WRESTLING C’SHIP! 🥉She beats Reigning Pan American Champion Precious Bell of USA 🇺🇸 9-5 in Bronze medal matchOUR GIRLS ARE MAKING US PROUD!!!! 🫡 pic.twitter.com/a9RTKIW6mE

Ahilya Shinde advanced from the round of 16 with an 8-1 victory over Cuba’s Yaynelis Sanz Verdecia but was beaten 6-9 by Turkiye’s Tuba Demir in the quarter-finals, ending her run in the 55kg category. Those results closed India’s participation in that weight class for the tournament.

In men’s freestyle action, Vicky Hooda lost 2-12 by technical superiority to Japan’s Arash Yoshida in the 97kg quarter-finals but was drawn into the repechage bracket after Yoshida reached the final. Sujeet Kalkal’s campaign in the 65kg division concluded when he lost his quarter-final 3-3 on criteria to Abdulmazhid Kudiev and was eliminated from the competition.

Manisha will face USA’s Abigail Elizabeth Nette in the gold medal bout on Friday, and India has so far collected three medals at the ongoing World Wrestling Championships: two silver and one bronze.