After an indifferent start to their campaign in the ongoing junior world championship at Pattaya, the Indian grapplers finally had something to cheer about with Indu Chaudhary clinching a bronze in the women’s 44kg weight category.
Indu beat Evin Demirhan of Turkey 3-1 in a closely-contested repechage bout to open India’s account in the tournament.
The young grappler won the first period, but her opponent made a strong comeback in the second to remain in contention.
However, the 20-year-old Indian held her nerve to win the next period and the bout to bag the bronze medal.
Earlier, Indu beat Russia’s Aziyata Khomushku in a lop-sided pre-quarterfinal bout before humbling the Moldovan Emilia Budeanu in the quarterfinals.
She, however, lost 0-5 to Japan’s Rie Matsumoto in the semifinals, only to remain in contention for the bronze.
Pooja misses out
It was heartbreak, though, for Pooja Dhanda in the 59kg group after she lost her bronze medal match 0-3 to China’s Feng Jiamin.
Meanwhile, India’s challenge in the 51kg was cut short after Archana Tomar crashed out of the championship after losing her pre-quarterfinal bout to Sweden’s Fredrika Ida Petersson.
