Sonam Malik lost wrestling match despite being tied for 2-2 vs Khürelkhüügiin, here's how

The Indian wrestling contingent did not have a great start to their Tokyo Olympics campaign with  Sonam Malik crashing out of the women’s 62kg category. Malik lost her bout to Mongolia’s Khürelkhüügiin Bolortuyaa, and her hopes of re-entry into the competition through the repechage round were dashed after Bolortuyaa lost to the former world champion and the second seed Taybe Yusein of Bulgaria in the quarter-finals of Tokyo Olympics. The repechage rule allows wrestlers who have lost early in the competition a second chance, should their victor make it to the final.

How Sonam Malik lost Olympics wrestling

India's Sonam Malik lost on the criteria after the two wrestlers were tied 2-2 on points at the end of the bout. The Mongolian was awarded the win based on the ‘highest scoring point’ rule. As per wrestling rules, in case of a tie, the winner is decided based on the highest scoring move by the wrestler. Bolortuyaa executed a two-point takedown in the second period, while Sonam collected one point in each of the two halves. 

Recap of Sonam Malik's opening bout

Sonam Malik had sealed her Tokyo 2020 spot at the Asian Olympic wrestling qualifiers in April and entered the Olympic tournament after recovering from her knee injury. The bout began with the Indian wrestler taking a cautious approach during the initial exchanges. Sonam Malik kept the pressure on her Mongolian opponent Bolortuyaa and was the first to register a point by pushing her opponent out of bounds.

She doubled her advantage at the start of the second round to pile pressure on her opponent. Khürelkhüügiin Bolortuyaa, the silver medallist from the Asian wrestling championships earlier this year, didn’t panic and was rewarded for her patience with seconds remaining on the clock. The Mongolian attempted a single-leg takedown, worth two points which was enough for Bolortuyaa to win the bout.

Indian Wrestling contingent at Tokyo Olympics

The Indian wrestling contingent will feature seven freestyle wrestlers -- four women and three men competing at Tokyo 2020. This will be India’s joint-largest Olympic wrestling contingent alongside Rio 2016. Vinesh Phogat is the only Olympian in the Indian wrestling team. She competed at Rio 2016 but made an early exit due to injury.

Image: WeareTeamIndia/ Twitter