New Delhi: Six months again, Antim Panghal marked her Olympic debut at Champ-de-Mars Area in Paris solely to look at her dream vapourise inside 90 seconds. The 20-year-old misplaced by way of technical superiority to Turkey’s Zeynep Yetgil, a two-time European Championships bronze medallist, to finish a forgettable day for India’s wrestling contingent that had earlier watched Vinesh Phogat being disqualified for her gold medal bout after failing to make the load within the 50kg division.
Antim Panghal is specializing in the Asian Championships and World Championships this yr. (IIS)
“I distinctly remember that the morale in the camp was down. There was this sense of disbelief. I won’t say it played on my mind because wrestling, at the end of the day, is an individual sport. I certainly could have given a better account of myself,” Panghal mentioned of her Olympics expertise after successful the IIS Haryana Dangal Championship in Hisar, her first aggressive problem because the Paris heartbreak.
“I think the occasion got to me. The pressure of Olympics is something else,” she mentioned. That mentioned, Panghal has had the expertise of competing in high-stakes competitions such because the World Championships and the Asian Video games. A two-time junior world champion, she was India’s lone medallist on the 2023 Belgrade World Championships the place she completed third. She additionally has an Asian Video games bronze to her identify, however the Olympics, she mentioned, examined her nerves like none different.
“It can get very overwhelming and it’s very easy to lose focus. That’s when pressure takes over and your best-laid plans come to naught,” she mentioned. Her opponent on the Video games, she reckoned, was “completely beatable.”
“I had beaten her in the past and I was aware of her game. But on the day that mattered, she was able to execute her skills. I also had a lingering pain in my waist and lower back due to an injury, and all of that combined to offset me,” she added.
Not like many athletes who took some downtime to shake off the stress of the rigourous Olympic cycle, Panghal determined to course-correct instantly. She consulted a physiotherapist to handle her again subject and after a month-long rehab at her house, resumed coaching below the supervision of her childhood coach Bhagat Singh.
“We started it slow after rehab and I was able to train at full intensity within a couple of months. I have been training regularly for 4-5 months now and am trying to perfect some technical areas in my game,” she mentioned.
“I think Paris was a missed opportunity,” she continued. “I had the potential to get into the medal rounds and even win a medal, but all that can’t be undone. I still wake up with a sense of disappointment. That hurt will take some time to heal, although there were lot of learnings from my maiden Olympics.” The learnings mainly allude to emotional intelligence and managing the hype.
“I have been to quadrennial Games before, but the buzz preceding the Olympics was unprecedented for me. I’ll be better prepared next time.”
With LA Video games nonetheless 4 years away, Panghal has set short-term objectives for herself. “We have Asian Championships (March 25-30) and World Championships (September 13-21) lined up this year and I’ll plan my peak around those events. My training is going well, my mind and body are feeling great, and I am maintaining my weight. I want to start winning again,” she signed off.