‘When down, Manisha pounces like a lion’: How Bhanwala overcame 0-6 deficit to win historic World Cup gold

Manisha Bhanwala took a victory lap after winning the gold medal at the Senior World Wrestling Championships New Delhi: Perhaps the greatest test of athletes comes not when they are dominating, but when they are down. When the match goes against them. When the clock is against them. When looking at the scoreboard doesn’t give you reason to relax. Competing in the non-Olympic 59kg category, Manisha Bhanwala faced many challenges in the final of the World Wrestling Championships on Friday.American Abigail Nette led Bhanwal 6-0 in the first period and 6-1 at the break in Astana’s Barys Arena. But a miss from the American put the 29-year-old Indian “in”, reducing the deficit to two points. With half a minute left, Bhanwala forced a takedown to take an 8-6 lead, which she held on to claim a historic medal.How historic? Manisha Bhanwala became the first Indian woman to win a gold medal at the World Wrestling Championships. She became the first Indian woman, male or female, to stand on the podium since Sushil Kumar in 2010. At 29, she is the oldest of the 24 Indians to have won a medal at the World Championships.However, none of that would have been possible without the mental strength to overcome that 0-6 deficit.“Manisha and I sat and watched her (Nette) videos before the final. We noticed that she gets tired in the fifth or sixth minute. After that she gets exhausted. But as a coach, as a guardian, he was a bit worried at 0-6,” national coach Virender Kumar said in a virtual interaction conducted by the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) from Astana on Saturday.“Still, I was sure that in those moments Manisha would start pouncing like a lion. I knew she would score a lot in the fifth minute. She has the ability to score 10 points in a minute. I told Manisha in the 30-second break that she would score a lot in the fifth or sixth minute. I was sure of that,” he continued.

Manisha Bhanwala (L) in action against USA’s Abigail Nette in the World Senior Wrestling Championship final. (UWW)

The seeds for such confidence and mental strength are sown in training. In sparring competitions, she experimented with different scenarios to keep herself ready for competitions: down 0-6, as in the finals, down 0-10, and other similar virtual situations.Manisha took up wrestling late in life, introduced to it by her late father Suresh, whom she still fondly calls ‘Father Sahab’.Born in Siwaha, 10 km from Jind in Haryana, Manisha started wrestling to please her father. As Manisha held the tricolor in the air and wore a gold medal around her neck, her father was with her.During the warm-up, she wore a special T-shirt with his photo on it. Before leaving for Kazakhstan, she had her parents’ faces printed on a white T-shirt.“There’s no ‘idea’ behind it. These things can’t be ‘ideas’. They’re feelings, something you just get from within. I did it three days before coming to Astana. I did it because I felt I’d come back with a medal, with a record,” Manisha said.With brother Rinke a kabaddi player and sister-in-law Mamta Sihag a wrestler, the family knows a thing or two about grief. None bigger than when Suresh died of cardiac arrest shortly before Manisha was to leave for the 2022 Asian Championships in Mongolia.An upset Manisha wished to skip the competition, but her family reminded her of Suresh’s dreams. In the end, Manisha won a bronze medal there before adding three more medals from the Asian Championships, including last year’s gold.“My father has taught me one thing since childhood. If you join a job, finish it. That thing is in my blood. Don’t start any job if you don’t plan to finish it. For me, wrestling is the first and last option,” said Manisha.

My father taught me one thing from childhood. If you start a job, finish it. This thing is in my blood

Manisha Bhanwala

Coach Virender Kumar highlighted her work ethic and dedication to the sport. “When I first met Manisha in 2022, I was her junior coach. In the summer in May and June, the temperature was around 45 degrees. When she went to work out, she did it twice a day. That’s when I thought, ‘Is this girl crazy?'”“Then I gradually joined her. This girl has no hobby, she is not interested in going out and watching movies, spending money on clothes, etc. She has only one hobby: wrestling. And the result is in front of you,” he continued.

Journey to LA 2028 and move to the 57kg category

Manisha Bhanwala became the first Indian female wrestler to win gold at the World Championships. (UWW)

The big challenge for Manisha now is to move up to the 57kg category to not only qualify for LA 2028 but also win a medal. Having competed in several categories – 59kg, 57kg, 62kg, 65kg – the big challenge for Manisha will be to maintain her weight for the 57kg competition.“When I won yesterday (Friday), the coach came in the evening. The whole team was there. The coach decided that the training starts from the morning. Now we have the senior national team and the PWL (Pro Wrestling League). When the India camp starts, we will start from there. The whole team will work on it. Then we will reconsider what to do, which competitions to play and which competitions will be decided by the coach after the match,” said the team’s coach.Coach Virender Kumar said that Manisha can rely on her wealth of experience when it comes to this highly competitive category.“As a member of the team, there are more girls up to 57 kg. But after a year, the biggest experience will be. If another girl was in Manisha’s place yesterday, who was losing 0:6 in the final, I don’t think she would have recovered from it.”“I’ll give an example. Look at Kajal, she’s 18 years old. She lost a final she should have won. The only reason she lost was because she’s inexperienced. What Manisha does in the domestic and international seasons next year and beyond will be key, but it’s also going to be experience,” he concluded.