Fever Fails To Halt Reetika Hooda's Medal Triumph at Hungary Ranking Series

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There's no stopping wrestler Reetika Hooda at the moment. Recently, she clinched the silver medal in the women’s 76kg category at the Hungary Ranking Series in Budapest, despite grappling with a fever. She defeated Genesis Reasco of Ecuador 4-0 in the 3/4 match.

Due to having only five competitors, the Nordic system was used in this category. The top three were determined through a round-robin format, where each wrestler competed against every other participant.

Reetika, an Asian Championship bronze medallist, narrowly missed out on gold, losing 2-3 to Colombia's Tatiana Rentería. Notably, the three wrestlers she defeated are all set to compete at the 2024 Olympics.

Reflecting on U-23 world champion Reetika’s impressive performance, her coach, Mandeep, who trains at the famous 'Chotu Ram Academy' where Rio Olympics bronze medalist Sakshi Malik trained, shared insights into her journey and future preparations. "She played very well. Reetika's opponent, whom she fought, will have to face her again in the Paris Olympics. She performed exactly as we practiced. Although she lost the fight, she played very well and will rectify the mistakes she made in the Hungary Ranking Series," he remarked.

He also highlighted the significance of Reetika’s victory over Paris-bound competitors. "Reetika has not yet competed much in 76 kg, earlier Reetika played in 72 kg and now she plays in 76. After this, her performance and technique have improved, and her confidence has soared. Her morale is very high because she has defeated former champions of 76 kg. Reetika also had a fever and despite that, she played well."

Discussing the strategy moving forward, her coach emphasized the importance of learning from the recent bout. "We will study the bout in which Reetika lost thoroughly, and we will cover it in the one month we have before the Paris Olympics."

When asked about Reetika's condition during the competition, Mandeep shared, "She was very confident. When I spoke to her, she had a fever. When she can perform so well despite having a fever, she will do even better in the future."

Every athlete wants to train abroad before the Olympics for better training and adaptation to weather conditions, but Reetika and her coach have different plans, "We are not going abroad. We will practice here until the Paris Olympics. If the girls are not equal to her, then we will have a fight with the boys to ensure rigorous training. So, there's no plan to train abroad."

Reetika Hooda’s silver medal is a testament to her resilience and dedication, setting a promising tone for her performance at the upcoming Paris Olympics.