The senior World Wrestling Championships final in 59kg on Friday made Manisha Bhanwala the first Indian woman to clinch a world title in wrestling. Manisha overcame a huge deficit in the gold medal match, defeating the United States’ Abigail Nette 8-6. India’s women have never won gold at the wrestling championships. This was a first in 39 years.

The Comeback in the Final

The early lead went to Abigail Nette, who is the Pan American champion. The score against Manisha was 5-1, but she made a string of attacking moves to stage a strong comeback. She had previously defeated world bronze medalist Laurence Beauregard in her first match of the tournament. According to Manisha, this title is the biggest she has ever won.

Manisha Bhanwala has won the world title in 59kg, which is not an Olympic weight category. Till now, only Anshu Malik had reached the final of the senior world; she won a silver in 57kg in 2021. India ended the world championships with 4 medals. Kajal Dhochak and Neelam Sirohi won silver medals. Tanu Sharma claimed a bronze in 72kg

A Gold Carried for Her Father

In the medal ceremony after the final, Manisha showed off a white T-shirt with pictures of her parents on it. Wrestling was introduced to her by her father Suresh, and she started losing weight at his behest. In 2022, when Manisha was travelling to Asian championships in Mongolia, her father passed away. Family members made her go for the event anyway and said that it would be a waste of all the efforts he had put in if she gave up. A family member said that the world title was a dream for the family.

Manisha is from Haryana and was born on 10 February 1997. She trains at the Inspire Institute of Sport. She has bronze medals at Asian championships in 2022, 2023 and 2024. She won the Asian title in 62kg at Amman in March 2025, beating South Korea’s Ok-ju Kim 8-7. It was India’s first gold at Asian championships since 2021. She also won gold at the Grand Prix in Kocaeli, Turkey, in 2025. At the 2023 World Championships in Belgrade, Manisha lost to Sara Lindborg of Sweden.

Antim Panghal became the first Indian woman to win a junior world title in 2022. Now Manisha has become the first to win a senior world title.