Nisha Dahiya looked set to secure a semifinal berth in the women’s wrestling 68kg division in her debut Olympic Games on Monday. She had scored a come-from-behind victory in her pre-quarterfinal against Ukraine’s Sova Rizhko 6-4 after trailing 1-4 at half time and looked in menacing touch while taking on North Korean Sol Gum Pak in her last-eight contest.
With Nisha leading 8-1 with less than a minute left on the clock, all that the Indian required was to defend her points.Right then, Nisha injured the little finger of her right hand and called for medical attention as she cried out in pain. The doctors strapped her finger as the 25-year-old from Haryana’s Adiyana village continued to fight. In between, Gum Pak sneaked out a point to narrow the lead to 2-8.
With only 33 seconds left, Nisha suffered another, much more serious injury in right arm, a result of intense grappling between the two wrestlers. Nisha looked in immense pain and called for medical attention a second time as the doctors applied pain relief spray on her injured arm. On the other hand, the judges cautioned the North Korean for her dangerous play.
Despite looking in extreme discomfort, Nisha chose to grapple but the injury affected her momentum and ability to fight. Desperately looking for a comeback, the 18-year-old North Korean took advantage of the situation and executed multiple roll-throughs to tie the score at 8-8 with just 12 seconds remaining.
Writhing in pain and crying inconsolably, Nisha called for her third medical timeout. The doctors advised her against continuing with the bout. But she refused to walk off and chose to fight till the end. However, her vulnerability allowed Gum Pak to score a crucial takedown to seal the bout 10-8.
A heartbroken Nisha slumped to the ground while crying in pain as well as due to the realisation that she had missed a golden opportunity to win an Olympics medal. She can still contest for a medal through Tuesday’s repechage round if Gum Pak makes the final. Besides, she will have to get match-fit quickly.
With Nisha leading 8-1 with less than a minute left on the clock, all that the Indian required was to defend her points.Right then, Nisha injured the little finger of her right hand and called for medical attention as she cried out in pain. The doctors strapped her finger as the 25-year-old from Haryana’s Adiyana village continued to fight. In between, Gum Pak sneaked out a point to narrow the lead to 2-8.
With only 33 seconds left, Nisha suffered another, much more serious injury in right arm, a result of intense grappling between the two wrestlers. Nisha looked in immense pain and called for medical attention a second time as the doctors applied pain relief spray on her injured arm. On the other hand, the judges cautioned the North Korean for her dangerous play.
Despite looking in extreme discomfort, Nisha chose to grapple but the injury affected her momentum and ability to fight. Desperately looking for a comeback, the 18-year-old North Korean took advantage of the situation and executed multiple roll-throughs to tie the score at 8-8 with just 12 seconds remaining.
Writhing in pain and crying inconsolably, Nisha called for her third medical timeout. The doctors advised her against continuing with the bout. But she refused to walk off and chose to fight till the end. However, her vulnerability allowed Gum Pak to score a crucial takedown to seal the bout 10-8.
A heartbroken Nisha slumped to the ground while crying in pain as well as due to the realisation that she had missed a golden opportunity to win an Olympics medal. She can still contest for a medal through Tuesday’s repechage round if Gum Pak makes the final. Besides, she will have to get match-fit quickly.