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'Had Just One Chance To Prove Myself': Navjot Kaur, 1st Indian Women To Win Asian Wrestling Gold

The 28-year-old wrestler from Punjab clinched the gold medal in the 65kg category after hammering Japan's Miya Imai with a massive score of 9-1

Indian women wrestler Navjot Kaur made her country proud and scripted history at the Asian Championship in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan on March 2. While India was busy in celebrating the festival of colours, the 28-year-old wrestler from Punjab clinched the gold medal in the 65kg category after hammering Japan’s Miya Imai with a massive score of 9-1. This victory made her the first Indian woman to win a gold at the Senior Asian Wrestling Championships.

Navjot’s journey in this championship was nothing short of a Hindi movie script. In 2013, she had lost the final and 5 years later, she was again at the same place. Moreover, after defeating Imai previously in the group stages, facing her again in the finals would have been enough to put any champion under pressure.

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But instead of getting pressurised, she decided to make the most of her chance. She went into the ring, earned 4-point throws on counters and beat her Japanese opponent by 9-1; making a grand entry into the record books.

According to several media reports, Navjot termed this day as the “best day of her life since she started wrestling”.

“This pressure was something that every athlete was having at the Asian Championships. But I decided, No, I will compete without pressure. I have just one chance to prove myself. Now I have won and I’m proud to become the first woman from India to win a gold at the Asian Championships,” the official world wrestling website quoted Navjot as saying.

Navjot thanked her coaches for their immense support. She said,

“At the national camp, I was supported and motivated by the whole team, including the coaches and the medical staff. I was a bit nervous but confident too. I was encouraged too: ‘No, you can do it, you can beat Japan, it’s not something that you can’t achieve.”

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Right after her victory, she took a victory lap on the shoulder of her two coaches. Meanwhile, people on Twitter erupted in joy and wished the Indian lady wrestler who made her nation proud. Here are some of the tweets:

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