Wrestler Ankush is gradually stepping out of the shadows Vinesh Phogats and Antim Panghals to make the 50kg category her own.
She will compete in her first-ever senior international competition at the Asian Wrestling Championships 2025 after defeating Neelam 8-1 in the continental event trials.
“I am extremely delighted today. Finally, I’ll have my chance at the international tournament at senior level,” said Ankush after her bout. “Earlier in 2022, I had defeated Neelam to book my berth for that year’s World Championships but due to some scoring error, WFI conducted a re-trial and I lost against Neelam in a tight fight,” Ankush told the Indian Express.
It is not an easy task to compete in the 50kg and 53kg categories as wrestlers like Vinesh, Antim Panghal, Shivanee Pawar, and Neelam are tough competitors in this categories.
“It’s an extremely competitive group. I have played against Shivanee and Neelam before. So I was confident of facing them,” Ankush said.
Ankush had defeated Neelam and Shivanee in the group stage. She thrashed Chanchal in semi-finals (11-0) by technical superiority, and again, defeated Neelam in the final to cement her place for the Asian Wrestling Championships 2025.
“I was thinking about Shivanee before the trials as I had lost to her in the Olympic qualifiers trials. Today was also a tight bout but I eventually prevailed,” she said.
The Bagana village, Hisar-native took up wrestling in her school. Olympian wrestler and two-time U20 World Champion Antim Panghal also belong from the same village.
She had clinched a silver medal at the U17 World Championships 2015. After that, she started training at the Sushil Kumar Wrestling Academy in Hisar.
“I used to train in my village with a group of five girls. Antim also used to come, but she was a junior then. After I won at the U17 Worlds, I shifted to Hisar at my current academy under my coach Jasbeer Dhaka sir,” Ankush said.
READ MORE: Mumbai Horse Show 2025: Stasya Pandya, Yashaan Khambata, Jaden Dsouza Clinch Top Honours