Seema Bisla becomes fourth Indian female wrestler to qualify for Tokyo Olympics

NEW DELHI: Indian wrestler Seema Bisla has qualified for the Tokyo Olympics in the women's 50kg category after reaching the finals of the World Olympic Qualifier in Bulgaria yesterday.

Seema qualified for the Olympics with a 2-1 win over European Championship bronze medalist Anna Lukasiak of Poland in the semifinals, displaying outstanding defensive skills.

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After giving up a point for inaction, Seema scored a fast takedown in the first period to take a 2-1 lead, which she maintained until the end to win the quota.

After Vinesh Phogat (53kg), Anshu Malik (57kg), and Sonam Malik (62kg), Seema is the fourth Indian to qualify for the games.

Ravi Kumar Dahiya (57kg), Sumit Malik (125kg), Bajrang Punia (65kg), and Deepak Punia (86kg) are among the men's freestyle qualifiers for the games.

Four Indian women wrestlers will participate in the Olympics for the first time.

Three Indian women wrestlers had competed in the 2016 edition of the games.

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Seema, who won bronze at the recent Asian Championships held in Almaty, was strong in her defence against Belarus' Anastasiya Yanotava earlier in the day, scoring four points in each of the three periods to win her pre-quarterfinal 8-0.

Union minister for youth affairs and sports, Kiren Rijiju while congratulating Seema on twitter wrote,“I extend my hearty congratulations to wrestler #SeemaBisla who has qualified for Tokyo Olympic at the World Olympic Qualifier in Bulgaria. She is the 8th Indian wrestler to qualify for Tokyo. I am very proud of all our athletes for working hard to secure quotas for the Olympic.”

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