<p>After the men’s Greco-Roman wrestlers grabbed four gold, woman freestyle grappler Geeta outclassed Emily Bensted of Australia 11-0 in the 55kg final. “This gold is the result of two years of training. So it’s a really special one for me,” Geeta said.<br /><br />Nirmala Devi took home the silver and Suman Kundu bagged a bronze on the third day of wrestling competitions. India’s tally of medals from wrestling swelled to five gold, two silver and three bronze.<br /><br />Nirmala went down 3-7 to Canada’s Carol Huynh in the 48kg title round. “I am really disappointed. I was a bit nervous when I came to know that I was fighting an Olympic champion,” Nirmala reasoned after her loss.<br /><br />Then, for a quarter of an hour, it was pin-drop silence at the venue until when Geeta strolled into the arena. Soon, the 22-year-old scored three points with minor takedowns in the first period. Geeta negotiated her opponent’s aggression with tight defence in the second period. The Haryana girl waited for the right opportunity to strike.<br /><br />Geeta got hold of Bensted and floored her to earn five points before she held her to the mat to end the bout with a fall. “Emily wasn’t that tough to beat. Once I beat the Nigerian girl, I was confident of winning the gold,” said Geeta, referring to her 5-1 semifinal victory over Odunayo Adekuroye.<br /><br />Nirmala, however, had her chances early in the bout against Olympic champion Huynh and even led by a point at the start of the first period. The 26-year-old wasn’t able to hold on to that lead for long as Huynh scored a couple of takedowns to fetch the crown.<br />Suman won the bronze by beating Zumicke Geringer of South Africa 9-2. Apart from Huynh’s gold, Canada won two more titles. <br /><br />Justine Bouchard beat Blessing Oborududu of Nigeria 6-2 to claim the 63kg gold while Ohenewa Akuffo overcame Laure Annabel Ali of Cameroon 4-3 in the 72kg summit bout to round off a good day for the Canadians.<br /><br />Results (all women’s freestyle finals): 72kg: Ohenewa Akuffo (Can) bt Laure Annabel Ali (Cmr) 4-3. Bronze medal match: Hellen Okus (Ngr) bt Sarah Jones (Sco) 4-0.<br /><br />63kg: Justine Bouchard (Can) bt Blessing Oborududu (Ngr) 6-2. Bronze medal match: Suman Kundu (Ind) bt Zumicke Geringer (SA) 9-2.<br /><br />55kg: Geeta M (Ind) bt Emily Bensted (Aus) 11-0; Bronze medal match: Lovina Edward (Ngr) bt J Clason (Sco) 8-0.<br /><br />48kg: Huynh Carol (Can) bt Nirmala Devi (Ind) 7-3; Bronze medal match: Odunayo Adekuroye (Ngr) bt Leeuw B (SA) 14-0.</p>
<p>After the men’s Greco-Roman wrestlers grabbed four gold, woman freestyle grappler Geeta outclassed Emily Bensted of Australia 11-0 in the 55kg final. “This gold is the result of two years of training. So it’s a really special one for me,” Geeta said.<br /><br />Nirmala Devi took home the silver and Suman Kundu bagged a bronze on the third day of wrestling competitions. India’s tally of medals from wrestling swelled to five gold, two silver and three bronze.<br /><br />Nirmala went down 3-7 to Canada’s Carol Huynh in the 48kg title round. “I am really disappointed. I was a bit nervous when I came to know that I was fighting an Olympic champion,” Nirmala reasoned after her loss.<br /><br />Then, for a quarter of an hour, it was pin-drop silence at the venue until when Geeta strolled into the arena. Soon, the 22-year-old scored three points with minor takedowns in the first period. Geeta negotiated her opponent’s aggression with tight defence in the second period. The Haryana girl waited for the right opportunity to strike.<br /><br />Geeta got hold of Bensted and floored her to earn five points before she held her to the mat to end the bout with a fall. “Emily wasn’t that tough to beat. Once I beat the Nigerian girl, I was confident of winning the gold,” said Geeta, referring to her 5-1 semifinal victory over Odunayo Adekuroye.<br /><br />Nirmala, however, had her chances early in the bout against Olympic champion Huynh and even led by a point at the start of the first period. The 26-year-old wasn’t able to hold on to that lead for long as Huynh scored a couple of takedowns to fetch the crown.<br />Suman won the bronze by beating Zumicke Geringer of South Africa 9-2. Apart from Huynh’s gold, Canada won two more titles. <br /><br />Justine Bouchard beat Blessing Oborududu of Nigeria 6-2 to claim the 63kg gold while Ohenewa Akuffo overcame Laure Annabel Ali of Cameroon 4-3 in the 72kg summit bout to round off a good day for the Canadians.<br /><br />Results (all women’s freestyle finals): 72kg: Ohenewa Akuffo (Can) bt Laure Annabel Ali (Cmr) 4-3. Bronze medal match: Hellen Okus (Ngr) bt Sarah Jones (Sco) 4-0.<br /><br />63kg: Justine Bouchard (Can) bt Blessing Oborududu (Ngr) 6-2. Bronze medal match: Suman Kundu (Ind) bt Zumicke Geringer (SA) 9-2.<br /><br />55kg: Geeta M (Ind) bt Emily Bensted (Aus) 11-0; Bronze medal match: Lovina Edward (Ngr) bt J Clason (Sco) 8-0.<br /><br />48kg: Huynh Carol (Can) bt Nirmala Devi (Ind) 7-3; Bronze medal match: Odunayo Adekuroye (Ngr) bt Leeuw B (SA) 14-0.</p>
