Nisha Dahiya earned her Olympic spot by defeating Romania’s Alexandra Anghel 8-4 in the semifinals at the World Olympic Qualifiers.
Nisha Dahiya, one of India’s rising stars in wrestling, is set to compete in the women’s freestyle 68kg category at the 2024 Paris Olympics on August 5. The 25-year-old from Haryana has shown remarkable prowess in her field, securing a bronze medal in the women’s freestyle 65kg event at the 2021 U23 World Wrestling Championships. Although she narrowly missed out on a bronze at the 2022 Senior World Wrestling Championships, she made a significant comeback by winning a silver medal at the Senior Asian Championships in Astana last year.
Joining Dahiya at the Paris Olympics are other talented Indian wrestlers including Aman Sehrawat (Men’s 57kg), Vinesh Phogat (Women’s 50kg), Antim Panghal (Women’s 53kg), Anshu Malik (Women’s 57kg), and Reetika Hooda (Women’s 76kg). This marks the first time India will have five women wrestlers competing at the Summer Games.
Nisha Dahiya earned her Olympic spot by defeating Romania’s Alexandra Anghel 8-4 in the semifinals at the World Olympic Qualifiers. Among her recent achievements, she clinched a silver medal at the Asian Wrestling Championships in Astana, defeating two-time Olympian Feng Zhou of China to reach the final.
Nisha Dahiya: India’s Rising Wrestling Star
Olympic Debut: Nisha Dahiya will represent India in the women’s freestyle 68kg category at the Paris Olympics.
Impressive Track Record:
- Bronze medalist at the 2021 U23 World Wrestling Championships (65kg category)
- Silver medalist at the 2023 Asian Wrestling Championships (68kg category)
- Fifth-place finish at the 2022 World Wrestling Championships (68kg category)
Olympic Qualification: Dahiya secured her Olympic berth by defeating Romania’s Alexandra Anghel in the semifinals of the World Olympic Qualifiers.
India’s Strong Women’s Wrestling Contingent: With Dahiya’s qualification, India will have a record five women wrestlers competing at the Paris Olympics.
Upcoming Challenge: Dahiya will kick off her Olympic campaign on August 5th in the round of 16.
Nisha Dahiya will face Tetiana Rizhko of Ukraine in Round of 16. This will be a very tough contest for Indian pugilist, as Ukrainian is a fifth seeded wrestler in Paris.
In quarter-final, Nisha will either face Pak Sol Gum of North Korea or Irina Ringaci of Moldovan. For the unknown, Irina is the gold medallist in the women’s 65 kg event at the 2021 World Wrestling Championships in Oslo, Norway. She is the fourth-seeded wrestler here.
If by any chance, Nisha goes into the semi-final, she will face the biggest hurdle of them all in Turkey’s Buse Tosun Cavusoglu. The veteran wrestler is the number one seed here at Paris Olympics.
Taking all the above scenarios in context, it can be concluded that for Nisha Dahiya to grab a medal in her category – chances are bleak. But as they never say never.
When will Nisha Dahiya play?
| Date | Event | Time |
|---|---|---|
| August 5, Monday | Women’s freestyle 68kg 1/8 final | 6:30 PM |
| August 5, Monday | Women’s freestyle 68kg 1/4 final | 7:50 PM |
| August 5, Monday | Women’s freestyle 68kg semi-final | 1:10 AM |
| August 6, Tuesday | Women’s freestyle 68kg repechage | 2:30 PM |
Bronze and Gold medal match of Women’s freestyle 68kg will happen on August 7 starting from 12:15 AM IST.
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