Nisha Dahiya, an Indian wrestler, won a silver medal in the women’s 68kg division at the Asian Championships on Tuesday in Astana, Kazakhstan, giving her the best medal of her promising wrestling career.
Nisha Dahiya was posting persistent victories up until Tuesday’s Asian wrestling championships in Astana, Kazakhstan. Then she came up against silver medallist Ami Ishii of Japan in the 68kg final. Ishii defeated Nisha with ease, 10-0.
Dahiya saw the medal as proof of her perseverance in fighting an injury comeback. She had already come home from the world championships in Serbia in a wheelchair, adding psychological wounds to the physical harm.
The wrestling journey of Nisha Dahiya:
Linda Morais of Canada was Nisha’s opponent in the match, which had a bronze medal on the line. Nisha had the advantage when Morais attacked her leg, leaving her helpless on the mat and in tears. After a trying two months of recuperation, she finally made a comeback at the national championships the previous year. Then, earlier this month, she won the Asian meet’s preliminary round.
The U-23 world bronze medalist Nisha has seen controversy off the mat as well. She made headlines in 2021 when it was discovered that she was confused for another wrestler with the same name who had been killed at an Akhara in Sonipat. The 25-year-old practises at the Satyawan akhara in Rohtak, where she has gained a lot of knowledge from her sparring matches with Rio Olympics bronze medalist Sakshi Malik.
She was in the zone Tuesday in Astana, demonstrating resilience and quick counterattacks. Nisha was behind 6-3 in the semi-final matchup with Chinese player Feng Zhou before coming back to win 7-6.
India has so far earned six medals overall. Four medals were earned by Greco-Roman wrestlers over the opening two days of competition. Neeraj (63 kg), Sunil Kumar (87 kg), and Vikas (72 kg) won bronze, while Rupin (55 kg) won silver.
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