Neha Sangwan upsets World Championship medalist Anshu Malik in wrestling trials

Haryana’s Neha Sangwan caused the biggest upset in the wrestling trials conducted by the Wrestling Federation of India on Tuesday in New Delhi.

Neha, a promising young wrestler from Haryana's Balali village, pipped World Championship medalist Anshu Malik in the early rounds of the women’s 57kg category. In the final, U17 World Champion Neha overcame a challenge from Delhi’s Neha Sharma 7-4.

The trials served as a selection process for the upcoming UWW Ranking series in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, later this month.

“I played my first bout with Anshu. I had entered with a mindset of giving my best. Anshu is my senior, there was so much to learn from her. She had a neck injury before, and today she again got injured. This is the first time I am playing in the senior category. I will give my best in Mongolia,” Neha told The Bridge after her bout on Tuesday.

Neha Sharma, playing in the blue corner in the final of the 57 kg category against Neha Sangwan, earned 4 points in a quick opening.

Then a solid takedown from Sangwan reduced the lead by 2 points. She then found an opportunity and attacked after Sharma was given a passivity warning, and helped Sangwan seal the match 7-4.

Neha has been training under Sajjan Singh for the past 5 years, and the coach was happy with her performance.

“Whoever puts in the hard work will win. Today, we had planned a strategy for Anshu, and I am happy we could execute it. Anshu is a big name in wrestling, an experienced player. Winning today has given us the motivation and that we are working in the right direction. Our focus now is on the Asian Games next year,” Neha’s coach, Sajjan Singh, who runs Kirsan Akhada in Jhajjhar, said.

In the 50kg category, Neelam prevailed 5-3 over Priyanshi, while Pushpa beat Jyoti in the 55kg category.

Pushpa got her first point after Jyoti failed to convert a passivity warning. Both were tied at 1-1 after Jyoti pushed Pushpa out of play. Soon, Jyoti had an upper hand with a 5-1 lead. But it was Pushpa who stole the show, winning 7-5.

In 65kg, Shiksha beat Freedom 10-0 by technical superiority.

The match between Monika and Shrishti in the 68kg category took an interesting turn. Shrishti was leading 4-2 with 30 seconds to go. An attack from Monika equalised the match at 4-4 when the points were challenged by Shrishti’s team. The challenge was lost, and Monika won 5-4.

The WFI had conducted the selection trials for men's Freestyle and Greco-Roman in Lucknow on Monday.

Trial Winners: Neelam (50kg), Pushpa (55kg), Neha Sangwan (57kg), Siksha (65kg), Monika (68kg), Harshita (72kg)

Direct entry: Reetika Hooda (76kg), Manisha (62kg), Antim Panghal (53kg), and Muskan (59kg) given direct entry.