Antim Panghal had a 2024 season to forget.
She was one of the favorites to bring home a wrestling medal at Paris 2024. However, it was not to be, as she struggled to make weight in the 53 kg category before losing in the first round.
“I did compete at Paris but the experience wasn’t a good one. I competed for the first time at the Olympics. I didn’t have any idea what it was going to be like. I thought it would be something like the World championships where I had won a bronze but it was nothing like that. It was completely different,” she told Sportstar.
She was competing in Paris 2024 with a back injury not treated to full recovery.
“I was performing well in the 2023 season but my performance started going down because of an injury to my back before I went to Paris. I was in a lot of pain. I did rehab but I didn’t have time to treat my injury properly before the Olympics.” she said.
“I know I made a lot of mistakes because I just didn’t know what to expect from an Olympic games. I know that I’ll prepare a lot better at my next competition. I hope that my performance will be better next time around,” she added.
In 2025, she has set her sights on going one better than her results at the 2023 Asian Wrestling Championships.
“After the Asian Championships I hope I can get more competition. We have the U-23 world championships and also the senior worlds. I want to compete in all of these events,” she said.
“The last time I competed at the Asian Championships I won a silver medal. My goal this time is to do better. I want to win the gold. It’s not that I just want to get on the mat. I want to try and win gold,” Panghal added.