Ibrahim Moustafa Wrestling: India's second medal comes with Reetika's bronze

India's Reetika won a bronze medal in the 72kg weight category at the Ibrahim Moustafa Wrestling ranking series in Alexandria, Egypt, on Saturday. After Ankit Gulia, it was Reetika who clinched a medal for the country as it was India's second medal in the ranking series.

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The Ibrahim Moustafa Wrestling tournament, which was held in Egypt, saw some of the best wrestlers from around the world compete against each other for the top spot. Reetika's journey to the bronze medal was nothing short of impressive. Reetika got the better of silver medallist Lilly Schneider of Germany via technical superiority (10-0) in the bronze medal match. Earlier, Reetika won gold at the U23 Asian championships and bronze at the junior world championships last year.

Meanwhile, in the first round, Reetika faced off against Uzbekistan's Svetlana Oknazarova, a Youth Olympic Games bronze medallist. The match was intense, with Reetika beat Svetlana 13-1 in the first round. After that, she handed Lilly Schneider a 10-0 defeat in her second bout to make the semi-finals.

However, it was Dalma Caneva of Italy who emerged victorious, ending Reetika's hopes of a spot in the finals. The two-time European championships medallist and eventual champion defeated Reeetika by 2-1. Despite the disappointment of the loss, Reetika remained determined to win a medal for her country in the Ibrahim Moustafa Wrestling tournament. While the other three Indian wrestlers in action on Saturday could not win medals.

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On the other hand, Sushma Shokeen pulled out of the Ibrahim Moustafa competition at the last minute due to injury. While Simran, a Youth Olympic Games champion in 43kg, beat Alaa Abdelhalim Said Harhash of Egypt via technical superiority (12-0) in the 59kg quarter-final. But she lost on technical superiority (10-0) to world champion Anastasia Nichita of Moldova in the semi-finals. In the bronze medal match, Simran went down to two-time junior European champion Yuliia Leskovets of Ukraine by fall (4-0).