Indian wrestler Reetika Hooda lost a close quarter-final bout against Aiperi Medet Kyzy of Kyrgyzstan in the women’s 76 kg freestyle category at the Paris Olympics here on Saturday.
The wrestlers were locked 1-1 after six minutes of top-quality defensive wrestling but the Kyrgyz won having logged home the last equalising point as per rules.
Both wrestlers played a defensive game and the solitary point each was scored through passivity across the two periods.
Reetika will now wait for Kyzy to enter the final which will give her a shot at competing in the repechage round.
If she doesn’t then India’s Paris Games campaign will end with six medals and without a gold.
Earlier, Reetika displayed power and skill in equal measure while outclassing Bernadett Nagy of Hungary 12-2 in the pre-quarterfinals.
