World Wrestling C'ships: Antim Panghal in bronze medal match, Priya Malik finishes 5th

The former World Championship medalist Antim Panghal has progressed to the bronze medal match of the 2025 World Wrestling Championships in Zagreb, Croatia, on Wednesday.

She was the only Indian wrestler to reach the semifinals of this event after registering a thrilling 9-8 win over Zhang Jin of China in a high-scoring quarterfinal.

Antim surged to a 6-0 lead in her quarterfinal bout, but then Zhang staged a stunning comeback to take an 8-7 advantage. However, the Indian secured a dramatic takedown with just 4 seconds on the clock to come out as the winner.

The 21-year-old Indian could not continue her winning momentum and lost a very close semi-final bout, 3-5, to the Paris Olympics finalist Lucía Yépez of Ecuador.

She will now fight for her second consecutive World Championship medal in the women's 53 kg bronze medal match on Thursday.

Antim is the second Indian female wrestler to reach the bronze medal match at this event after Priya Malik, who earned herself a medal match by pinning her Italian opponent in the repechage.

However, Priya was overpowered by Paris Olympic medalist Milaimys Marín of Cuba in the bronze medal match, resulting in a heartbreaking 5th place finish for the young Indian.

On the other hand, the Asian champion Manisha Bhanwala failed to get past the quarterfinal in a rematch of the Asian final against North Korea's Kim Ok-Ju.

Manisha was shell-shocked by the powerful play of Kim, who made two take-downs followed by two gut wrenches to gain a massive lead.

The 27-year-old Indian will now have a second chance to earn her maiden world championships final via repechage, as Kim progressed to the finals.

The other two Indian wrestlers, Jyoti Berwal (72 Kg) and Radhika Jaglan (68 Kg), had an early exit in the round of 16 to Mongolian and  American wrestlers, respectively.