Indian wrestler Antim Panghal prepares for her maiden Olympics after securing a quota with a World Championship bronze.
Hisar (Haryana): Ahead of the much-awaited Paris Olympics 2024, Indian Women wrestler Antim Panghal expressed her feelings as she is set to play in her maiden Olympics starting on July 26.
Panghal beat Sweden’s two-time European champion Emma Jonna Denise Malmgren to win the bronze medal in the women’s 53kg event at the World Wrestling Championships 2023 in Belgrade, Serbia. Following this win, she obtained a Paris Olympics 2024 quota for India.
“We get more training done on the mat. We used to get training done before, but now the Olympics is a big game. I qualified for the event for the first time,” Panghal told ANI.
The 19-year-old player further spoke about her injury which she suffered before the start of the Budapest Championship, where she won a silver medal.
“I was a little bit tired because I had an injury. But after that, I did my proper training and focused on everything, whether it was mat work, basketball training or ground training. Coach has also given me support to do all this. When I went to play in the ranking series, I won a silver medal, So, I thought that if I fought well in the Olympics, I would win a silver medal.” the wrestler added.
Panghal went on to talk about her opponents in the upcoming mega event (Olympics). She said the competition against the players from Japan and China will not be easy.
“All the competitors will be good because it is a big competition. There is no one to qualify for it. All the competitors will be good. But in my opinion, there are two good girls. There is Japan, China. There are three or four good girls,” the 19-year-old player said.
In the end, she spoke about Asics, who has supported her throughout the journey so far.
“The Asics company has supported me a lot. The fitting of the Asics is very good. The technology used by them is also very good. It makes me feel more confident. I feel very comfortable in their shoes,” Panghal concluded.
Antim Panghal created history as the first Indian woman to win gold at the Junior World Wrestling Championships in 2022, defending her title in 2023. She replicated her feat by earning a bronze medal at the 2023 World Wrestling Championships, a bronze at the 2022 Asian Games, and a silver at the 2023 Asian Wrestling Championships.
