Antim creates history with second World medal, eases memories of Olympic shock
On Thursday evening in Zagreb, Croatia, Antim Panghal beat Sweden’s Jonna Emma Malmgren 9-1 to win bronze in the women’s 53kg category at the 2025 Wrestling World Championships. In doing so, she joined a rare group of Indian grapplers.
Antim, who had earlier won bronze on debut at the 2023 Worlds, also against Malmgren, became only the second Indian woman wrestler after Vinesh Phogat, and third overall, to win multiple World Championships medals. She didn’t know this until after her bout. “I didn’t have any idea that there were only two of us (who had won more than one medal),” she said when informed.
Her mind, however, was elsewhere. “When I won my medal the last time, it was my first senior competition in the World Championships. This time, I was only thinking about winning the gold medal. I thought I would have a good match with the Japanese girl (eventual champion Haruna Murayama) in the final. But then I had a bad match in the semifinals (she went down 3-5 to Paris Olympics silver medallist Lucia Yepez Guzman). After that, I thought I had to win a bronze medal for sure,” she explained.
That hunger frames a fascinating debate. Vinesh, regarded as one of India’s greatest wrestlers, won her second World Championships medal at her fifth Worlds when she was 28. Antim, by contrast, is only 21.
The two have not always been on the same page — most notably during a dispute over Asian Games selection in Hangzhou — but Antim speaks with respect. “I respect Vinesh. She brought her weight down to 50 kgs and fought at the Olympics. It’s very difficult for an athlete to struggle so much (to bring her weight down). But she is in her place, and I am in mine. I think that the one who has worked hard will get what she deserves,” she said.
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For all her deference, Antim’s trajectory has been dizzying. In 2022, she became the first Indian woman to win a junior World title, adding another the following year. By 19, she had an Asian Games bronze and an Olympic quota spot.
Dramatic fall
But the Paris Olympics proved a crash landing. Tipped as a medal contender, she lost in the opening round to an unheralded opponent. Off the mat, her coach clashed with a taxi driver, and Antim’s accreditation was revoked after she was accused of sneaking her sister into the Village.
She returned in disgrace and hid from the spotlight. “I remember those days. I was hiding from the media. I didn’t even want to look at any cameras. I was thinking of quitting. I didn’t even go to my parents’ house, but my uncle’s house, because I was trying to avoid the media. When I eventually came back home, I didn’t even want to leave my house,” she recalled.
Her parents, siblings, and coaches pulled her back from the brink. “Everyone supported me a lot. They asked me, ‘What has happened? It was just a wrestling match. The Olympics will come again.’ That way, they encouraged me to start training again,” she said.
File photo: Antim Panghal lost to Turkey’s Zeynep Yetgil in the opening round at Paris 2024 Olympics.
| Photo Credit:
AP
File photo: Antim Panghal lost to Turkey’s Zeynep Yetgil in the opening round at Paris 2024 Olympics.
| Photo Credit:
AP
Her return was measured. Not only did she need to recover from the psychological toll, but also from lingering neck injuries sustained at the 2023 Worlds and aggravated in Paris. “I was just a kid (when I went to the Olympics). I had just started playing. I didn’t even know anything. When I was coming back, my coach (Siyanand Dahiya) supported me. My training partner did a lot for me. My physio did a lot for me after the Olympics. He did a full rehab for me for two months. He told me not to go on the mat before that. It was only after that that I started training,” she said.
Ironing out weaknesses
Coach Dahiya, at Inspire Institute of Sport in Hisar, recalls how they worked to refine her game. “Antim is not lacking in power or endurance, but she was very susceptible to ankle attacks. So we drilled on training her defence against ankle attacks day after day,” he said.
The results came quickly: bronze at the Asian Championships in Amman, then gold at the UWW Ranking Series in Budapest.
Antim also feels she has grown mentally. “Before Paris, I hardly understood anything. With time, I’m understanding a lot more. Now I think if anything happens outside the mat, I’ll look at it outside the mat. On the mat, I’ll think about what’s happening on the mat,” she said.
She has also learnt to tune out extremes of public opinion. “In India, when someone wins a (big) medal, they are raised to such a high level. And when they lose, the same people come after them. They don’t even know what their situation was, whether they had an injury or anything. Were they mentally prepared? They don’t see any of that. They only see that they have lost. That’s why I only depend on myself. I don’t care about anyone else. The only people I trust are my coach, physio, training partner and family,” she said.
A clearer focus
Antim now trusts herself more. She knows her wrestling is built on defensive solidity, not flashy moves. “When I have a bout, the only thing I think about is that I don’t want to give points to anyone. I fight thinking that I don’t want to lose to anyone. It doesn’t matter if the score is 10-0 or anything else. I just don’t want to make a mistake,” she said.
File photo: Antim Panghal knows her wrestling is built on defensive solidity, not flashy moves.
| Photo Credit:
PTI
File photo: Antim Panghal knows her wrestling is built on defensive solidity, not flashy moves.
| Photo Credit:
PTI
Dahiya agrees progress is evident, but insists the next step is eliminating costly lapses. “In the bronze medal match, the Sweden wrestler made so many attacks on Antim and even got her ankle, but Antim defended all those attacks. But at the same time, in the semifinal (against Guzman) and the quarterfinal (against China’s Zhang Jin, which Antim won 9-8), there were mistakes which allowed the opponent to score. Her semifinal match (against Guzman) was lost after she conceded a single four-point throw early in the match. It was a single action that decided how the match went. The next step is to ensure that that single action doesn’t happen,” he said.
Looking ahead
Though she didn’t get the ultimate prize in Zagreb, Antim is optimistic. “When I lost the semifinal bout, I was thinking that this time I would be fine. I am going from the competition; I am not injured. Last time I came back from the World Championships, with a lot of injuries. I was carrying a lot of injuries after the Olympics, too. But this time I am not injured. So I am thinking that I will work hard and get the gold next year,” she said.
Published on Sep 19, 2025