Reetika Hooda loses in quarterfinals of 76kg freestyle wrestling; can still fight for bronze

Reetika Hooda lost to top-seeded Aiperi Medet Kyzy of Kyrgyzstan 1-1 on criteria in the quarterfinal of the women’s 76kg freestyle wrestling event at the Paris 2024 Olympics on Saturday.

Reetika still has a shot at the bronze medal through the repechage round if Kyzy reaches the final.

Earlier in her Paris Olympics journey, Reetika made a strong start, overpowering Hungary’s Bernadett Nagy with a 12-2 technical superiority win.

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Last year, Reetika etched her name in history as the first Indian woman to clinch a gold medal at the U-23 World Championships, where she triumphed over the USA’s Kennedy Blades, who would later earn a spot on the USA Olympic team. Reetika’s achievements also include bronze medals at the senior Asian Championships and the Under-20 World Championships in the 72kg category.

Significantly, Reetika moved up from the 72kg weight class to the 76kg category, which is part of the Olympic lineup, after years of competing in the lower division. She often trains with male wrestlers at akharas due to the limited availability of female sparring partners at her level in the country.

On Friday, Aman Sehrawat secured India’s first wrestling medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics, capturing bronze with a decisive 13-5 victory over Puerto Rico’s Darian Cruz. This victory pushed India’s total medal count to six, just one shy of the seven medals achieved at Tokyo 2020.