Nethmi Ahinsa Fernando created history yesterday (07) as she beat Valeryia Mikitsich to clinch a historic bronze medal in the 53kg weight class at the 2024 U-20 World Championships Wrestling Tournament being held in Pontevedra, Spain.
Nethmi, who won a bronze medal in the 2022 Commonwealth Games in the Women’s 57kg event, beat her opponent, neutral athlete Mikitsich by 6-2.
This is her second international medal following the Birmingham Games in 2022, which marked Sri Lanka’s first ever medal in the sport of wrestling at world stage.
The freestyle wrester, who trains under her coach Suranga Kumara, beat Kazakhstan’s Yengilik Kabylbek 10-0 in the qualifying round, and continued her fine form by beating Nikol Krasimirova of Bulgaria 10-0 in the pre-quarterfinals.
Nethmi recorded an impressive 14-6 win against Liliana Kapuvari of Hungary in the quarter-finals, but lost to China’s Jin Zhang 2-2, leading her to the bronze medal match.
Chinese athlete Jing Zhang beat Spain’s Carla Jaume in the gold medal fight to clinch the first place as Jaume settled for the silver.
Japanese wrestler Saki Yumiya beat India’s Jyoti Jyoti to win the other bronze medal.
