A dream come true moment for Manisha

An ardent Cristiano Ronaldo fan, Manisha Bhanwala values time like her superstar idol. After a frustrating Asian Games outing, she made the best use of the short period to bounce back as the first-ever Indian woman wrestler to land a World championship gold in Astana.

Manisha had planned to compete in 59kg, instead of Olympic category 57kg, in order to avoid another round of weight cut. “It was not my day at the Asian Games. Our coach (Virender Dahiya) told me that something big was awaiting me.

Since I had less time, I chose 59kg,” said Manisha at a virtual press conference organised by the Wrestling Federation of India on Saturday. Manisha, hailing from Siwaha village in Jind district of Haryana, joined one of her role models, 2010 World champion Sushil Kumar, in an exclusive club after staging a remarkable come-from-behind 8-6 win over USA’s Abigail Elizabeth Nette in the final.

For Manisha, who paid an emotional tribute to her late father Suresh for his support by posing with a T-shirt featuring his photograph alongside her Worlds belt, it was a dream-come-true. “I started wrestling late. So, I couldn’t take the belt as a junior or sub-junior.

Now I have the belt,” said Manisha, who led Indian women to the fifth place in team rankings. Having won international medals in four different weight categories – 57kg, 59kg, 62kg and 65kg – the 29-year-old does not feel insecure of the talented Indians in 57kg.

“There’s nothing called old or young. It’s all in the mind. You must take care of your diet and sleep.” Eager to make a mark in 57kg at 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, Manisha looked on the bright side of winning the World title in a non-Olympic weight.

“Some wrestlers who would switch to 57kg were here. Competing with them was an advantage,” she said.