More articles by

Sarath Ramesh Kuniyl
Sarath Ramesh Kuniyl

RIO OLYMPICS

Can Babita do a Sakshi Malik?

babita-kumari [File] Babita Kumari lost her round of 16 clash to Maria Prevolaraki of Greece | AP

India's hopes of a second medal in women's wrestling received a major blow when Babita Kumari lost her round of 16 clash in 53kg freestyle category to Maria Prevolaraki of Greece. She will now have a shot at the bronze medal only if Maria makes it to the final.

Maria took an early lead in the first period by pushing Babita out of the zone. She followed it up with two more points by toppling Babita, when the Indian wrestler tried an aggressive move by going for her ankle and losing balance in the process. The Greek wrestler ended the first period 3-0.

In the second period, Babita managed to score a point when Maria was penalised for defensive play. But, the 24-year-old Greek scored another two points with a fine tackle to win the match 5-1.

Earlier in the day, wrestler Sakshi Malik had won India's first medal at Rio Olympics by winning the bronze in 58kg freestyle category via repechage. She had lost her opening bout to the eventual silver medallist Valeria Koblova.

This browser settings will not support to add bookmarks programmatically. Please press Ctrl+D or change settings to bookmark this page.

Related Reading