Ace wrestler Priya Malik became only the second Indian grappler to the U20 World crown as she defeated Germany's Laura Celive Kuehn in the 76 kg Gold medal match. The young Indian remained unperturbed by the cut above her eye as she cruised past the German with an authoritative 5-0 win in the summit clash. Meanwhile, Antim Panghal is on the doorstep of a historical milestone.
Priya was on a carnage at the Worlds. She did not concede a single point on her way to a fabulous Gold medal win. She registered a technical superiority 10-0 win in the semifinal over USA's Kennedy Alexis Blades. Earlier, she outclassed AIN's Aliaksandra Kazlova 11-0 in the quarterfinal after registering a 4-0 win over AIN's Mariia Silina in the qualification round.
Antim Panghal on doorstep of history
Meanwhile, another Indian Antim Panghal is on the verge of creating history. She is the first Indian woman to win the U20 World title last year and Priya is second after her. Panghal has also made it to the finals in the 53 Kg and if she wins the Gold medal bout, she will become the first wrestler to win two World titles.
Antim was also dominant in her journey to the final. She dropped just two points in her entire campaign. She defeated AIN's Polina Lukina in the last four clash by 12-0. Antim outclassed China's Xuejing Liang in the quarterfinal by 12-2. She overpowered Poland's Nikola Monika Wisniewska in the 1/8 clash. Antim will face Ukraine's Mariia Yefremova in the Gold medal match.
Moreover, this is also the first time that four Indian woman wrestlers are playing their Gold medal matches at the Junior Worlds. Savita and Antim Kundu have also made it to the summit clashes in the 62 kg and 65 kg categories, respectively.