New Delhi, Oct 31 (IANS) Manisha Bhanwala, India’s first woman to win a senior World Wrestling Championships gold medal, wants her historic achievement to pave the way for more Indian women wrestlers to reach the top, as the country recorded its best-ever performance at the Women’s Wrestling World Championships 2026 with four medals in the competition.

Manisha, who clinched a historic gold in the 59kg category on Friday, believes the significance of her breakthrough will ultimately lie in seeing more Indian women become world champions and make such achievements a regular feature of the country’s wrestling landscape.

“Records are meant to be broken, and I want this record and achievement to be broken as well. I want more and more girls to emerge as world champions so that Indian women wrestlers winning world titles becomes the norm rather than an exception. We also aim to break records at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics,” she said while replying to an IANS query during a joint media interaction facilitated by the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) on Saturday.

India finished fourth in the medal standings with one gold, two silver and one bronze. Alongside Manisha's historic triumph, Neelam Sirohi secured silver in the 50kg category, while Kajal Dhochak finished with silver in the 76kg category. Tanu Sharma completed India’s medal tally with bronze in the 72kg category.

The country also finished fifth in the team rankings with 94 points, behind the United States, Japan, China and Ukraine. The four-medal return surpassed India’s previous best performances at the Women’s Wrestling World Championships, when it secured two medals each in the 2012 and 2021 editions. However, both those championships were held in Olympic years, when participation and competition levels were relatively lower.

Beyond her individual achievement, Manisha also had a message for her fellow Indian wrestlers, particularly Sirohi and Dhochak, urging them to remain patient and not allow setbacks at a major competition to define their careers.

“I just want to tell the girls that sometimes it is simply not your day. For instance, Kajal (Dhochak), who competed in the 76kg category, had one of those days. Similarly, it was a new experience for Neelam (Sirohi) to compete at such a high-intensity event. Perhaps God has something much better planned for them in the future, and they need to be patient and wait for their opportunities. I have experienced this myself. I waited patiently, and eventually got the results. I would just advise them to remain patient because much better things are in store for them,” she added.

Having experienced her own share of disappointments before reaching the pinnacle of the sport, Manisha believes patience will be crucial for the next generation of Indian women wrestlers as they look to build on the country’s breakthrough performance.

The next challenge for Manisha will be to get down to the 57kg category from 59kg and adapt to the demands of the same, with the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics on the horizon.

--IANS

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