Paris Olympics: Why Did Reetika Hooda Lose In The Quarterfinal Despite Score Line Being 1-1?

India's Reetika Hooda lost to Kyrgyzstan grappler Aiperi Medet Kyzy in the Women's 76kg Wrestling Freestyle quarterfinal at the Paris Olympics. It was a close contest which ended with the score line of 1-1. Yet, it was the Kyzy, who has adjudged the winner because of the countback rule. According to the rule, in case of a draw the wrestler who wins the last point, wins the bout. Here it was the Kyrgyzstani wrestler who scored the last point, hence, her hand was raised by the referee, and she has moved to the semi final. 

Reetika Hooda's campaign isn't over

Indian wrestler Reetika Hooda lost a close quarter-final bout against Aiperi Medet Kyzy of Kyrgyzstan in the women's 76 kg freestyle category at the Paris Olympics here on Saturday. The wrestlers were locked 1-1 after six minutes of top-quality defensive wrestling but the Kyrgyz won having logged home the last equalising point as per rules.

Both wrestlers played a defensive game and the solitary point each was scored through passivity across the two periods. Reetika will now wait for Kyzy to enter the final which will give her a shot at competing in the repechage round. If she doesn't then India's Paris Games campaign will end with six medals and without a gold. Earlier, Reetika displayed power and skill in equal measure while outclassing Bernadett Nagy of Hungary 12-2 in the pre-quarterfinals.

(With inputs from PTI)