Paris Olympics 2024: Reetika Hooda Dominates Hungary’s Bernadett Nagy, Enters Quarterfinals

India’s final hopes for a medal finish in the Paris Olympics remains well and alive as wrestler Reetika Hooda outclassed Hungary’s Bernadett Nagy in the Women’s 76kg Freestyle event to progress to the quarterfinals on Saturday.

The Indian skillfully put away Nagy with swift footwork and timely spurts of aggression in a bout that ended 12-2 in favour of Reetika.

The bout started off with both wrestlers playing it defensively, till Nagy made the first move, lunging at Reetika’s legs for a takedown, only to be unsuccessful.

The Indian kept playing it safe, till she was hit with a 30-second hit time, and this is when Reetika went in for the kill, as the Indian toppled the Hungarian Nagy down onto the mat to score 4 points at one go.

Nagy, vissibly shaken tried to counter and snatch away a few points of her own, but Reetika’s swift footwork ensured that the Hungarian could get nowhere near her, and went into the halfway break with her lead intact.

Both wreskler engaged in a prolonged grapplefest once the match resumed with multiple takedowns on either sides ensuing, as the scores stood at 6-2 in favour of the Indian with two minutes to go.

Nagy was simply no match for the shighly skillful Reetika, who took the Hungarian down at will to extend her lead to a comfortable 8-point cushion with less than a minute to go.

Despite the Hungarian’s best efforts, Reetika would just prove to be too much to handle, as the Indian would put up another 2 points to completely dismantle Nagy with technical superiority as the bout ended 12-2.

An accomplished wrestler in her own right, Reetika became the 1st Indian Woman Wrestler to claim a Gold medal at the Under-23 World Championship (2023). The 22-year-old had bagged a Silver medal at the 2023 Ranking Series. She had also won a Bronze medal in the women’s 72kg freestyle category at the Asian Wrestling Championships held in Astana, Kazakhstan last year.

Enroute to her Paris qualification, she also became the first Indian woman to qualify for the 76kg heavyweight wrestling category at the Olympics. She had earned the quote in the women’s 76kg at the Asian Wrestling Olympic Qualifiers held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan earlier this year in April.

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