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Antim Panghal, who took Vinesh's original 53kg weight category in Olympics, loses in 101 seconds to Turkish opponent
Antim Panghal, who participated in Vinesh Phogat's original weight category at Paris Olympics, loses in 101 seconds.
India's biggest wrestling medal hope, Antim Panghal, crashed to a humiliating 0-10 defeat at the hands of her Turkish opponent, Yetgil Zeynep, in the women's 53 kg category at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday.
Antim, who was one of the first to gain an Olympic quota in the category earlier owned by Vinesh Phogat, was outclassed in 101 seconds in the first round.
It was because of Antim's staggering performance at this weight category that Vinesh had to reduce her weight further to an Olympic quota for the 50kg wrestling.
Vinesh, who became the first Indian wrestler to enter an Olympic final with historic victories that included stunning the defending champion, Japan's Yui Susaki, in the round of 16, was disqualified hours before her gold medal bout after she failed to pass weigh-in.
Vinesh was found 100gm overweight on Wednesday, which resulted in her disqualification. She won't get a podium finish as the international wrestling rules rank a wrestler at the bottom if she or she fails the weigh-in a point during the competition.
Guzman Lopez replaced her in the final, who had lost to the Indian wrestler in the semi-final.
Coming back to Antim's match, the Turkish wrestler emerged victorious by virtue of "Technical Superiority" where she had a clear 10-point lead over her Indian opponent. Zeynep was in complete control as she first pinned Antim for two points, followed by another two and then performed a double flip to get four points.
She completed the rout with another two points when the referee stopped the bout, leaving Antim in tears. However, if Zeynep qualifies for the final, Antim will have a shot at repechage.
