Commonwealth Games 2018: Wrestler Pooja Dhanda wins silver

Pooja Dhanda won a silver medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, She is the fourth Indian woman wrestler to have won a medal at the United World Wrestling (UWW) World Championships.  

Pooja Dhanda joined the elite list of Alka Tomar, Babita Kumari Phogat and Geeta Phogat.  On October 25, this 24-year-old from Haryana defeated Grace Jacob Bhullen of Norway 10-7 in the playoff bout to win bronze in the 57kg category at the László Papp Sports Arena in Budapest.

Dhanda, who led 6-1 in the first period of the bronze play-off, had to ward off a rigid comeback from the Norwegian in the second period. She became over-defensive, conceding passivity and step-out points, and managed to edge out Bhullen to earn a four-point throw.

Prior to this, Dhanda beat Alyona Kolesnik of Azerbaijan 8-4 to reach the bronze bout. Her medal brought immense happiness for the Indian wrestling contingent which had only a silver medal from Bajrang Punia, in the 65kg freestyle category.