Hungary Ranking Series: Sangeeta Phogat wins bronze in wrestling event

Budapest: At the Hungary Ranking Series competition here on Saturday, Sangeeta Phogat, one of the six wrestlers who protested against WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh at Jantar Mantar, took home the bronze medal in the non-Olympic 59kg division. Sangeeta lost her first match by a crushing fall, but she recovered to win her next match. Although she lost in the semifinal, she defeated young Hungarian Viktoria Borsos, the silver medalist from the U-20 World Championship, 6-2 to win the bronze.

The match against American Jennifer Page Rogers ended in a loss by fall for Sangeeta, who had previously won the 62 kg National Championship, PTI reported.

Sangeeta, who won the National Championship in the 62kg last year, began with a defeat by fall against American Jennifer Page Rogers.

The contest lasted just 80 seconds with the American pulling away with a right leg attack that led to a take-down and multiple rolls. Eventually, the American got herself in a position to pin Sangeeta.

In her next bout against America’s Brenda Olivia Reyna, the Indian managed to shake off the rust and was quick with her movement. She went into the break with a 4-2 lead and kept consolidating to finally win the bout by technical superiority.

One win and one defeat in a six-wrestler draw put her in the semifinal against Poland’s Magdalena Urszula Glodek.

Sangeeta initiated double-leg attacks but lacked the power to convert those moves into points. Still, she led twice, first 2-0 and then 4-2m but Glodek’s counter-attacking moves were good enough to race to a close 6-4 win.

In the bronze play-off against local favourite Borsos, Sangeeta took the lead with a take-down move. The Hungarian fought back to make it 2-2 but Sangeeta soon launched a fast and furious attack.

Borsos put up a good defence but Sangeeta breached it for a 4-2 lead.

In the second period, Sangeeta did not lose a single point and added two to her kitty to take the bronze medal.