Astana (Kazakhstan), Oct. 31 -- Manisha Bhanwala became the first Indian wrestler to win a women's freestyle gold medal at the World Wrestling Championships after a stunning comeback victory in the 59kg final here.
The 29-year-old Manisha, competing at the World Wrestling Championships 2026, came back from 6-0 down to beat reigning Pan American champion Abigail Nette of the USA 8-6 in the gold medal bout on Friday.
Manisha became only the second Indian wrestler to win a senior world title. Two-time Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar was previously India's only world champion, having won the men's 66kg freestyle crown in 2010, according to olympics.com.
The gold marked a new high in the career of Manisha, the 2025 Asian champion, who had comp...