Mumbai: Wrestler Reetika Hooda slips in a Haryanvi saying with some zest amid all her Hindi soft-spokenness. It roughly interprets to 3rd time’s the allure, and factors to her shedding to the identical seasoned Kyrgyzstan opponent in her two earlier event outings.
Reetika Hooda. (HT)
The latest was ultimately week’s Asian Championships ultimate in Amman, the place two-time senior World Championships medallist Aiperi Medet Kyzy snatched the 76kg gold from the U-23 world champion Indian’s grasp.
“Gold reh gaya (I left the gold),” Reetika, 22, mentioned. “It was important to win gold. But I’m kind of happy with the silver too; also because I got to learn from it in the way I wrestled.”
Kyzy, 26, had additionally received the higher of Reetika ultimately 12 months’s Paris Olympics. Each bouts, nonetheless, have been tactically distinct. Whereas that Olympic quarter-final was a cagey cat-and-mouse defensive duel that ended 1-1 (each scored a passivity level) in opposition to Reetika on standards, this Asian ultimate was extra frenetically attacking that appeared to float in the direction of Reetika on a 6-2 lead, till Aiperi swung it round with round 10 seconds to go for a 7-6 win.
“At the Olympics, I couldn’t execute my attacks too much. This time, I had prepared better in terms of my attacking moves against her. And I was able to execute them too. But I had to defend more towards the end instead of continuing to hunt for attacks. That’s what I learnt from this bout,” Reetika mentioned on a go to to Mumbai for her periodic health checks on the Sir HN Reliance Basis Hospital.
“I’m a bit junior to her, and somewhere experience matters in such close bouts.”
In her younger profession that to this point options the U-23 world title and a few senior Asian medals, the Rohtak-based grappler has scripted a good few one-sided bouts. It’s these tight tussles which go deep into the dying seconds that Reetika desires to get higher at closing out.
“I go well for a large part of the bout. But in those last 20-30 seconds, we Indians often tend to falter. That’s where wrestlers from other countries are more active. If we can get better than them in those last 30 seconds, we will be able to beat them easily,” she mentioned.
That, based on the teenager, will include elevated stamina and power, higher understanding of method and techniques and extra high-level event expertise. Again at her coaching base in Rohtak, Reetika is trying to spar for prolonged intervals and with boys to construct stamina. Heading overseas to coach “would be good” however solely “in the off season, not when competitions are near”.
Reetika felt good to be lastly competing once more after a prolonged post-Paris pause owing to Indian wrestling’s continued administrative uncertainty, and in beating Japan’s Nodoka Yamamoto and South Korean Seoyeon Jeong on the Asian meet.
“The return (to the mat) went well. Going into the final, I was happy with the way I was beating different kinds of opponents,” she mentioned.
The promising prospect cherished her Olympic debut as a uncommon Indian within the greater weight class, but additionally realised the work forward on this cycle to make an even bigger impression at that stage.
“After I won my first bout and people in the hall started shouting ‘India, India’, I felt surreal. For a second, the thought of winning a medal also crossed my mind. But now I know how much harder I have to work for that. Not that I put in less work for Paris, but she (Kyzy) being so senior to me made the difference.”
Reetika is bound of operating into the Kyrgyzstan grappler for a 3rd time on the mat; in all probability once more at a excessive stakes event subsequent 12 months.
“At the Asian Games, I might face her again. I’ll fully prepare myself to beat her then and get that gold.”