National wrestling: Geeta Phogat wins silver on return; Sakshi, Seema make early exits

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 H'ryana's Manisha, who went on to lose in the next round and had to settle for a bronze medal. Sangita Phogat,'Geeta's younger sister, eventually won the gold beating Ritu Rani in the final.

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.

In the women's 72kg, top contender Divya Kakran, the reigning Asian Champion and bronze medallist at the U23 World Championships, was stunned b' Railways' Pinki in the preliminary rounds. Divya came back strongly to win the bronze medal.

Haryana won the overall championships in the women's section with 188 points while Railways Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) finished second with 147 points.

In the men's freestyle competitions on Friday, Satyawart Kadian of Railways, Sakshi Malik's husband, won the gold medal in 97kg category, beating Harshwardhan of Maharashtra in the final.

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