Manisha Bhanwala overturned a 6-0 deficit against Pan American champion Abigail Nette to become the first Indian woman to win the 59kg World Wrestling Championship title
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Manisha Bhanwala taking a victory lap after winning gold(Photo: Special arrangement)
Fresh off becoming the first-ever Indian woman world champion in women’s 59kg freestyle wrestling at the World Wrestling Championships in Astana, the bravehearted Manisha Bhanwala, who overturned a 6-0 deficit to claim gold in the final yesterday, is now eyeing an unprecedented podium finish at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics in the 57kg category.
Just a day after beating Pan American champion Abigail Nette in the women’s 59kg final, against all odds, Manisha Bhanwala claimed that she will gradually transition into the 57kg categoryShe made this claim in an exclusive chat with India.com on Saturday.
The 59kg weight class is no longer in the Olympics and it will not be on display at the LA games in two years’ time. Many would think that it will be a slight disadvantage for the Rohtak-born wrestler, but according to Manisha, it is a massive advantage.
Manisha exclusively told India.com that she has previously faced most of the wrestlers who are going to transition from the 59kg category to 57kg and that will be a great advantage for herShe believes that her experience against those opponents will come in handy during the qualifiers.
“Right now some girls were in 59kg, they will shift to 57kg in Los Angeles, these girlsSo we have got a plus point that the ones we have wrestled, they will come in 57kg in the qualification up to 2027, so this has somehow become an advantage for us,” Manisha Bhanwala told India.com.
Her coach Vijender Dahiya then revealed that he was quite sure that Manisha Bhanwala would clinch a podium finish at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in the 57kg, but she ended up getting knocked out from the last eight stagesAnd since there was a very little time between the Asiad and the senior world championships, Dahiya and Manisha decided to go on in the 59kg.
“We went to the Asian Games in 57kg and we were dead sure that our medal would comeAnd there was no time between the Asian Games and senior World Championships, seeing that only we had made the program to fight in 59kg,” Vijender Dahiya said.
Dahiya then confirmed that Manisha will compete in the 57kg category at the LA Olympics“Otherwise, our main target is 57kg, and in LA we will go in 57kg itself,” he added.
How getting into hostel as a kid shaped her interest?
Manisha has had an interesting career graphShe made her senior wrestling debut at the age of 25 and it took her four years to claim her maiden titleThese many years without any major success does take a toll on an athlete’s mind and performance, but for the Rohtak-born, it’s all about dedication not age.
“It all depends on the mindThere is no difference between young and oldWhat matters is dedication,” Manisha Bhanwala said.
When we asked her to deep dive a little into the beginning of her wrestling journey, Manisha revealed that her interest grew after her father decided to put her in a hostelGrowing up, the 29-year-old would look at the senior Indian medallists and dream of doing something similar for the nation.
“When I was small, I was quite unfit, so (my) father put me in a hostel, then gradually interest grew, and then slowly I saw seniors, and when medals came for India, I also used to think that I should also sit in a plane,” said Manish.
Manisha also revealed that as a junior and sub-junior wrestler, she could not win any belt, but she is not regretful about itAfter all, she has become the first-ever Indian woman world champion.
“Then after that, an aim was formed that yes, I should also, since I started wrestling a bit late, I couldn’t take the belts of junior and sub-junior, it was just that now I have to take the belt in seniors only,” Manisha added.
Notably, Manisha Bhanwala is the first Indian since 2010 to win a senior world titleShe is overall the second to do so after Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar, who had won the men’s 66kg freestyle title 16 years ago.
Manisha had produced a stunning comeback to win the women’s 59kg gold medal at the 2026 World Wrestling Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan.
She was trailing 0-6 against USA’s Abigail Nette in the final after conceding an early four-point move and a caution.
Manisha reduced the deficit with a step out before launching her comeback in the second periodShe scored through a takedown and followed it with a gut-wrench to level the score at 6-6Manisha then secured another takedown to take an 8-6 lead and held on to win the historic gold medal.
