MANISHA Bhanwala’s strategy to outlast American Abigail Nette, rather than get drawn into her aggressive approach, proved to be decisive in her historic World Championships gold, with chief coach Virender Dahiya revealing that the Indian camp had identified the opponent’s vulnerability through a detailed analysis. Manisha became India’s first woman world champion after producing a stunning comeback from a 1-6 deficit to beat Nette 8-6 in the women’s 59kg final on Friday, ending the country’s 15- year wait for a wrestling world title. “We had studied her style of wrestling. We knew she gets tired by the fifth minute and decided that the bout needed to last the full six minutes. If that happened, Manisha always had the advantage,” Dahiya told PTI. “This is the kind of wrestling that our most decorated wrestlers have produced, winning through endurance. Bajrang Punia, Ravi Dahiya and Aman Sehrawat have done it, and now Manisha has done the same. Incredible,” he added. The Indian camp had also identified Nette’s preference for launching attacks from a distance and instructed Manisha to deny her that space. “Nette likes to attack from a distance, so we strategised that Manisha needed to stay as close as possible and maintain contact,” Dahiya said. The strategy was put to a severe test in the opening period, when Nette dominated proceedings and went into the break with a 6-1 advantage.

 

But the 30-second interval proved to be a turning point, with Dahiya delivering a simple but powerful message to his wrestler. “I told her wrestling can change in one second and you have 180 seconds to turn it around. She responded by saying, ‘Sir, do not worry. I will not disappoint you. I won’t return without gold’,” Dahiya recalled. Manisha lived up to her promise, scoring seven successive points in the second period to overturn the deficit and script history. She first executed a takedown, then followed it up with a gut wrench to draw level at 6-6 before scoring another twopointer to take an 8-6 lead. With 27 seconds remaining, she held off a tiring Nette to secure the victory and become India’s first woman wrestling world champion. For Dahiya and his team, the historic gold was not just the result of an inspired comeback but also a carefully conceived plan that played to Manisha’s greatest strength, her endurance. Back home, Mandeep Singh, Manisha’s coach at the Sir Chhotu Ram Akhada in Rohtak, was ecstatic, describing the gold as the biggest reward for years of hard work. “She always wrestles aggressively, and it is her years of experience that gave her the confidence to win even from 1-6. I can say that over the last twothree years, Manisha has worked immensely hard,” Mandeep told PTI. “It is the biggest medal and everyone’s dream is to become a world champion. Sir Chhotu Ram Akhada has given that to India, and the next dream is that our centre produces an Olympic medallist too. God has been kind and hard work has paid off,” he added.