Madhya Pradesh’s wrestler Shivani Pawar assures herself of a medal as she enters the finals of the U-23 World Wrestling Championships on Wednesday in Belgrade, Serbia.
The 23-year-old wrestler, hailing from Chhindwara district, took on Russia’s Mariia Tiumerekova in the women’s 50kg category semifinal and forged a victory by fall in the first round of their bout. After initially trailing from 0-4, Pawar recovered to pin her opponent, the European U-23 champion. Tiumerekova is the second wrestler the Indian has pinned in the competition.
Earlier, in the quarterfinals, Pawar had defeated Ukraine’s Tetiana Profatilova by 13-6 to secure her spot in the semis.
Shivani becomes the first Indian to confirm a medal at the U-23 U-23 World Wrestling Championships with this victory.
Last month, Pawar won the first gold for the state at the National under-23 wrestling championship held in Amethi, Uttar Pradesh.
Shivani’s younger sister, Ritika has also taken up wrestling. The daughter of a farmer, Pawar has been actively competing in wrestling tournaments since her school days and has brought multiple laurels for her state.
The wrestler will face USA’s Emily King Shilson in the final on Thursday.
