Sakshi Malik has lost her first bout to Oluwafunmilayo Adeniyi of Nigeria by a score of 7-10 in the women’s 62kg category. Nonetheless, the 2016 Rio Olympics bronze medalist went down fighting at World Wrestling Championships at Nur-Sultan in Kazakhstan on Thursday.

Sakshi Malik goes down fighting 

Sakshi Malik had conceded a huge 6-0 lead before she finally managed to score a takedown. The Olympian then staged a spirited fightback in the second round, but it was too late by then as there she could not overcome the deficit and went on to lose the bout. However, her progress in this competition is a formality. Sakshi Malik's tournament is not over yet. If Sakshi wants to compete for the bronze medal then Aminat Oluwafunmilayo Adeniyi needs to reach the final i.e. the gold medal match. If that happens, then Sakshi Malik can have a chance to fight for the bronze via the repechage. 

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Ravi Kumar defeats Korea's Kim Sunggwon

Meanwhile, Ravi Kumar kept Indian hopes alive after his impressive 11-4 win over Korea's Kim Sunggwon in just 2 minutes and 59 seconds.

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Bajrang Punia into the quarterfinals

Bajrang Punia had comprehensively beaten Poland’s Krzysztof Bienkowski in his opening bout by a 9-2 margin in the 65kg Round of 16. Bajrang's Polish counterpart had managed to pick up a couple of points but the Indian wrestler was just too good for him as the bout was won without breaking any sweat. By the virtue of this win, Bajrang qualified for the pre-quarterfinals. The Asia Games 2018 gold medalist then went on to defeat Slovakia's David Habat 3-0 to consolidate his place in the quarterfinals. If Bajrang Punia succeeds in winning another bout, then he will qualify for the gold medal match. 

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Vinesh Phogat qualifies for 2020 Olympics

Vinesh Phogat had defeated World Silver medallist Sarah Hildebrandt 8-2 in the second repechage round and had qualified for the Tokyo Olympics 2020. Vinesh was too good for her American opponent and dominated the bout from the beginning and never allowed her opponent a grip in the bout. In today's first repechage, Vinesh defeated Ukraine's Yuliia Khavaldzhy 5-0 in a one-sided match while Seema Bisla (50 kg) got the better off Nigeria's Miesinnie Genesis 9-9 on criteria. Last night, Vinesh and Seema remained in the hunt for a bronze medal as they reached the repechage round in their respective categories.

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