Aman Sehrawat would be the only Indian wrestler to pick up a medal from the Paris Olympics after women’s 76 kg grappler Reetika Hooda failed to go past the quarterfinals of her category, finishing at the wrong end of a 1-1 bout against two-time World Championship medallist Aiperi Medet Kyzy of the Kyrgyz Republic on Saturday.
Kyzy later lost her semi-final to USA’s Kennedy Blades, keeping Hooda out of the repechage rounds.
Hooda’s exit from the 76 kg competition meant that India’s medal count at the Paris Olympics stood at 6, a number that could go up or stay the same depending upon the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s (CAS) decision on Vinesh Phogat’s appeal for a shared silver medal.
She’s UNSTOPPABLE!! 🔥
Reetika Hooda dominated her Hungarian opponent with a 12-2 victory in her first bout & storms into the quarterfinals! Catch all the Olympic action LIVE on #Sports18 and stream FREE on #JioCinema 👈#OlympicsOnJioCinema #Paris2024 #Wrestling pic.twitter.com/tbqoXjPb2K
— JioCinema (@JioCinema) August 10, 2024
At 21, Hooda came into her maiden Olympics as a wildcard of sorts. She had beaten Blades only last year for the U23 World Championship crown, but was unseeded at this Olympics – a dangerous proposition for many seeded wrestlers. Once the draw came out, it became clear that she would have to go through some of the best wrestlers in the 76 kg category to medal in Paris.
First up was Hungary’s Bernadett Nagy.
Over a minute into their bout, the Hungarian had the passivity timer struck against her. She immediately tried to earn a takedown by tripping Hooda first, but the Indian wrestler kept control of Nagy’s left arm as they both went to the floor. Once her opponent’s arm was out of the way, it was a quick scramble and two points were awarded in the Indian’s favour, which soon became four when she rolled Nagy over.
With nine seconds left in the first period, Nagy attempted a takedown of her own, grabbing Hooda’s left leg and converting the position into two points right as the buzzer rang. It would be the last bit of offence she would be allowed in the entire match.
Hooda is the first woman from India to make the heavyweight categories at the Olympics and comes from Sakshi Malik’s stable at Sir Chhotu Ram Stadium in Rohtak. And even though she occupies the topmost weight category in the women’s division, her insistence on remaining an offensive wrestler makes her a dangerous opponent in her weight category. At the Asian Olympic Qualifiers, the scores of her four bouts read 10-0, 11-0, 9-6 and 7-0.
Relentless offence
The second period against Nagy showed that Hooda had the endurance to continue charging forward. Less than a minute in and she had control of her opponent’s left hand again and pushed her sideways until Nagy lost control and found herself giving up another two points. The Hungarian, knowing her Olympic dreams were about to fizzle out, dropped to grab Hooda’s legs and managed to lunge forward. But the Indian, once again, didn’t give an inch and converted what could have been a potential takedown against her into a counter, which earned her two points and then almost converted that position into a pin.
Nagy managed to wriggle out of trouble, but not before giving up another two points. With the score at 10-2, and 45 seconds remaining in the bout, Hooda managed to land the final two points to win by technical superiority and move on to meet the Worlds silver medallist.
A strong fight, but it just wasn’t enough 😓
Reetika Hooda fought valiantly in the women’s freestyle 76kg quarter-finals but came up just short against Aiperi Kyzy. 💔 #OlympicsOnJioCinema #OlympicsOnSports18 #JioCinemaSports #Paris2024 #Wrestling #Cheer4Bharat pic.twitter.com/whPKfPOjfM
— JioCinema (@JioCinema) August 10, 2024
Against the Kyrgyz wrestler though, Hooda’s constant pressure found its match. Kyzy started off on a better note, gathering Hooda’s leg and almost converting the position into two points. But the Indian held on and defended the position well. From there, she closed all doors for the Kyrgyz and the referee soon started the passivity timer on the Asian Games gold medallist. The Indian went into the first period with a slender one-point lead.
In the second period, Hooda had her chances to capitalise and possibly add some more points to the board. But her offence never really got going, like it had in her previous bout. Soon it was her turn to land an attack or lose a point and even with the timer against her, a takedown never materialised.
A point apiece, the 21-year-old from Rohtak desperately needed to either push Kyzy out of the mat or land one of her attacking moves. Neither happened as the second period ended with the Kyrgyz wrestler controlling the Indian’s head and holding off any chance of an attack. The score was 1-1 but Kyzy went through to the semi-finals on account of having scored the last technical point of the match. She then lost to Blades 8-6 to end Hooda’s maiden Olympics.
