Geeta wins silver on return; Sakshi, Seema make early exits

GONDA: Former Commonwealth Games gold medallist Geeta Phogat's dream of making a golden return to the mat after marriage and childbirth was dashed while Rio Olympics bronze medallist Sakshi Malik and fellow Olympian Seema Bisla made early exits in the 2021 Senior Men Freestyle, Greco Roman and Women National Wrestling Championship here on Friday.

A former World Championship bronze medallist Geeta, who returned to competitive wrestling for the first time since becoming a mother in 2018, had to be satisfied with a silver in the women's 59 kg category on Friday. She had cruised to the final with ease where she found Railways' Sarita Mor, also a bronze medallist at the World Championship, a tough nut to crack and lost.

Both Geeta and Sarita have found tough battles earlier Geeta, the most famous of the Phogat sisters of Haryana, had lost to Sarita in the 2017 Nationals too.

In the women's 62kg category, Olympic medallist Sakshi Malik, could not progress to the medal rounds as she lost to Haryana's Manisha, who went on to lose in the next round and had to settle for a bronze medal.

Shivani Pawar, a silver medallist at the U23 World Championships recently, defeated Seema Bisla, who represented the country at the Tokyo Olympics, in the semifinals and went on to beat junior world championships bronze medallist Simran in the final to win the gold medal. IANS

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