Gonda (Uttar Pradesh), Nov 11
It was a “perfect and happy ending” for Nisha Dahiya as she emerged national champion in the women’s 65kg category a day after her dramatic “murder story” turned out to be a case of mistaken identity.
The title clash ended in just 30 seconds with Nisha, the U-23 World Championships bronze medallist, pinning Punjab’s Jaspreet Kaur. Except for her semifinal against Haryana’s Priyanka, it turned out to be a good day for the 23-year-old, who represents Railways.
“It indeed is a happy and perfect end to my campaign. I was so stressed yesterday. I could not even sleep. I was already low on energy due to weight cut and this incident proved too much to handle,” Nisha said after winning her third gold medal at the Nationals.
On Wednesday, it was reported that Nisha had been shot dead in Sonipat but it later came to light that the deceased was her namesake and an upcoming wrestler.
“Of course, an athlete wants to be discussed and talked about but I am sure not in this way. I want people to know for my performance and not for such freak incidents,” she said. “I got so many calls that I had to switch off my phone. It was becoming tense and I wanted to stay focused on my competition. Eventually, it did not affect my performance,” Nisha, who is coached by Arjuna awardee Satyawan Kadian, added.
Shafali and Priyanka won the bronze by winning their respective playoffs. If groomed well, the youngsters can be good prospects for India in future.
Before the final, both the 65kg semifinals were fast-paced and furiously fought. Jaspreet edged out Haryana’s Shafali 6-4 while Nisha prevailed 7-6 against Priyanka.
In the women’s 76kg event, 37-year-old Gursharanpreet Kaur won the gold after a teary-eyed Pooja Sihag left the mat in the first period after twisting her right arm when the Punjab wrestler made a move on counterattack. It was the seventh gold medal for Gursharanpreet at the Nationals.
The 76Kg category seemed headed for a title clash between familiar names — veteran Kiran and Gursharanpreet but Pooja prevented that with her 3-1 win over the Railways player.
Gursharanpreet, on the other hand, had an easy win by fall against Bipasha, a talented Delhi youngster, who had won a silver medal at the Junior World Championships recently. Bipasha and Kiran won the bronze.
Competition for women was held only in two categories on Thursday, while the Greco Style event concluded on the opening day. — PTI
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