Belgrade

Indian wrestler and Commonwealth Games 2022 gold medalist Vinesh Phogat captured a bronze medal in the women's 53 kg category at the ongoing World Wrestling Championships in Belgrade on Wednesday.

Vinesh defeated reigning European champion Emma Malmgren from Sweden 8-0 on points.

She had won two of her repechage matches against Asian Games silver-medallist Zhuldyz Eshimova of Kazakhstan in the first repechage round and Azerbaijan's Leyla Gurbanova.

Gurbanova withdrew due to an injury.

Phogat, was handed a shocking 7-0 defeat by 2022 Asian championships silver medalist Khulan Batkhuyag of Mongolia in the qualification round on Tuesday.

Repechage round wins helped her get back into the competition and secure a medal.

This is her second bronze medal at the Championships. She had previously earned a podium position in the 2019 edition of the tournament at Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan.

India's U-23 bronze medalist Nisha Dahiya will also fight for bronze in the women's 68 kg category after her loss to U-20 world champion Ami Ishii of Japan in the semifinal.

Nisha Dahiya had successfully defeated Lithuania's Danute Domikaityte, Adela Hanzlickova of the Czech Republic and Bulgarian Sofiya Georgieva in her previous bouts before losing to Ami Ishii.

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Junior Asian champions Mansi Ahlawat and Reetika also faced early exits from the competition, with the former earning a quarterfinal finish and the latter exiting in the qualification round.