“This pressure was something that every athlete was having at the Asian Championships. But this time, I decided, No, I will compete without pressure. I have just one chance to prove myself,” a dedicated Navjot Kaur told the official world wrestling website before wrestling it out in the Senior Asian Championship on Friday.
The off-pressure attitude helped her scripting history. She is now the first Indian woman wrestler to win a gold in the Senior Asian Championships.
She silenced Japan's Miya Imai 9-1 in a dominated final bout of the women's 65 kg freestyle category to bag the gold.
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On the other hand, Rio Olympics bronze medallist Sakshi Malik also claimed a bronze in the 62 kg freestyle category after losing it to Kazakhstan's Ayaulym Kassymova 10-7 in a tough fight.
Navjot produced a dominating performance and became the first Indian woman to claim an Asian gold.
Born in 1990, Navjot started learning wrestling back in 2004. “This is the best day of my life since I started wrestling,” she told.
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The 28-year-old Navjot is not a new name in the circuit. She has made her marks high in the past as well. With a silver at the Asian Championships in 2013 and a bronze in 2014 Commonwealth Games in 67kg, the champion eyes big in the future.
The wrestler acknowledged for the support her coaches and support staff extended to her prior to the triumph. She also dedicated her title to the whole nation by calling the medal a “gift of Holi to the country.”
The Seniors Asian Championship on Greco-Roman wrestling, freestyle and women wrestling is being held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan between February 24 to March 4, 2018. So far India has got one gold, one silver and four bronze in its kitty.
Feature Image credit: India Today
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