Sajan Bhanwala becomes first Indian with medal in Greco-Roman wrestling
India's Sajan Bhanwala won the bronze medal at the Under-23 World Wrestling Championship (77kg event) in Spain on Wednesday. He became the first-ever Indian to win a medal in Greco-Roman wrestling, a form that allows the wrestlers to use only their upper body. In the bronze-medal match, Bhanwala beat Dmytro Vastesky to script history. Here we decode the Indian's journey.
Bhanwala enters record books
What is Greco-Roman wrestling?
Greco-Roman wrestling, a combat sport, has featured regularly at the Olympics since the 1908 Games. Like freestyle wrestling, a wrestler has to either pin their opponent to the mat or plunder more points within the stipulated time. Unlike the former, one can't hold below the waist in Greco-Roman wrestling. Besides, the wrestlers aren't allowed to use their legs for offensive or defensive actions.
The journey of Bhanwala in U-23 World Wrestling Championship
Bhanwala beat Lithuania's Aistis Liaugminas 3-0 in qualification. However, the Indian lost to Alexandrin Gutu by a 0-8 margin in the pre-quarterfinals. While Gutu secured the finals berth, Bhanwala advanced to the repechage round. In that round, the Indian wrestler beat Kazakhstan's Rassul Zhunis to book a spot in the bronze-medal match. Bhanwala defeated Vasetskyi to script history.
Bhanwala scored a four-pointer
The bronze-medal match between Bhanwala and Vasetskyi turned out to be thrilling. Bhanwala was trailing 4-10 before he scored the following six points to level 10-10. However, the Indian emerged victorious by recording the highest-scoring move in the bout. Notably, if two wrestlers are at par at the end, the one with the highest-scoring move or the final point wins the bout.
Other medals of Bhanwala
Earlier this year, Bhanwala won bronze medals at the Under-23 Asian Championships and the Zouhaier Sghaier Ranking series, respectively. In 2019, the Indian wrestler qualified for the semi-finals of the Under-23 World Wrestling Championships. However, he lost his medal round of that edition.
21 Indian wrestlers denied visas
India entered the ongoing Under-23 World Wrestling Championship with a shortened squad after host nation Spain denied visas to 21 of the 30 wrestlers. As per the Wrestling Federation of India, the rejection came on the suspicion that the athletes will not leave Spain before the expiry of their visas. Antim Panghal, India's first-ever under-20 woman world champion, was among the 21 wrestlers.
