Nisha Dahiya secures Paris Olympics 2024 quota for India

Nisha Dahiya clinched a quota for India at the Paris Olympics 2024 in the women’s freestyle 68kg category during the World Wrestling Olympic Qualifiers held in Istanbul, Turkey, on Friday. This marks the fifth Paris 2024 wrestling quota secured by India, all attributed to women wrestlers. However, India was unable to secure a quota in Greco-Roman wrestling.

The Istanbul event serves as the final opportunity for wrestlers to secure a quota for the upcoming Summer Games, with three Paris 2024 Olympic quotas available in each weight category. The top two finalists in each division secure Paris 2024 Olympic quotas for their respective countries, while the third spot is determined by a playoff bout between the two bronze medallists.

In her journey to securing the quota, Nisha defeated Alina Shauchuk, a former U23 world championships silver medallist, and Adela Hanzlickova of Czechia, the top seed, in the round of 16 and semi-finals, respectively. She then emerged victorious against Romania’s Alexandra Anghel in the final, securing an 8-4 win and the Olympic quota.

Previously, Antim Panghal (53kg) secured India’s first quota at the 2023 World Wrestling Championships, followed by Vinesh Phogat (50kg), Anshu Malik (57kg), and Reetika Hooda (76kg) at the Asian Qualifiers in Bishkek last month. However, Mansi Ahlawat’s quest for a quota in the women’s 62kg category ended in the round of 16.

This marks the first instance where India will have five women wrestlers competing at the Olympics, compared to four at Tokyo 2020. Nonetheless, the final participation of athletes at the Paris Games depends on their National Olympic Committees selecting them for representation.

On the other hand, India’s aspirations in Greco-Roman wrestling were dashed after Sunil Kumar was eliminated in the repechage of the men’s 87kg division. Despite a victory against Greece’s Ilias Pagkalidis, Sunil Kumar fell short against Sweden’s Alex Kessidis. This will be the second consecutive Summer Games without Indian representation in Greco-Roman wrestling, following Tokyo 2020, with the last appearance being at Rio 2016. Six Indian men’s freestyle wrestlers will commence their pursuit for Olympic quotas on Saturday.