Reetika Hooda of India made history on Thursday by becoming the country’s first Under-23 woman wrestling world champion. She is only the second Indian to win a gold medal at the U23 World Championships. In an exciting 76kg final, Reetika upset former U20 world champion Kennedy Blades of the United States 9-2.
What makes Reetika’s accomplishment even more remarkable is that she was fighting in the 76kg division for the first time after competing in the 72kg category for two years.
Reetika, a bronze medalist at the Asian Championships, used a counter-attacking strategy to overcome the favoured Blades. Reetika led 3-2 at the half, with points earned by forcing Baldes out. The American scored two points with a double-leg.
Blades attempted to target Reetika’s leg in the second half, but the Indian secured a pair of takedowns that helped her win the gold.
In other news, Neha Sharma won silver in the 55kg women’s wrestling division after losing the final 2-4 against Albania’s Umi Imai.
Nitika won bronze in the 59kg division after beating Michaela Rankin of Canada 5-0.