CHENNAI: She believes in the invisible hands of her father guiding her, whenever she is cornered; even now, four years after his demise. No, she doesn't believe in super natural, either. Manisha Bhanwala is a strong woman and she draws extra strength from her late father. So much is she drawn to him that she even got a customised T-shirt made with her father's picture on it.
Before leaving for Astana, Kazakhstan to take part in the World Championships, Manisha requested her elder brother Rinku to provide her some new pictures of their late father Suresh. Rinku couldn't find any new pictures and told Manisha that he has the same as she has. In the end it didn't matter as well.
Manisha got a T-shirt customised with a picture of her father printed on the front and displayed it proudly after creating history for the country on Friday. She defeated Abigail Nette of the USA 8-6 in the final of the 59kg weight category to become the first woman from India to finish on top of the podium at the senior Worlds. The gold was also India's second at the event with two-time Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar winning the first in Russia in 2010.
"She asked for pictures (of father) but I have the same photographs which she has. I told her the same but she got the T-shirt ready by getting the picture she had printed on the front," brother Rinku told this daily. It was Manisha's father, who wanted her to pursue wrestling but a tragedy struck the family when Suresh passed away after suffering a heart attack. And it happened hours before Manisha was scheduled to board a flight for Mongolia to participate in the 2022 Asian Championships. She competed in the event and won a bronze medal in the 62kg weight category. It's been four years since her father's demise but Manisha still believes he is around and guides her whenever she needs it. She told the same to this daily after storming into the final on Thursday.
Brother's emotional reaction
Rinku was speechless on his sister's achievement and informed that Manisha had told them that she would achieve something special this time. "She was confident and told us that she would create history. Athletes win gold medals but becoming first to do so for the country is something else. It's more special after the heartbreak in the Asian Games," added the brother.
Manisha competed in the 57kg division at the 2026 Asian Games but lost to Japanese ace Akari Fujinami in the quarterfinal. Fujinami was then shocked by North Korean wrestler Sim Son in the semifinal depriving Manisha a shot at the medal via repechage round. With a small gap between the two events, Manisha decided to compete in the non-Olympic 59kg weight category at the Worlds as maintaining the same weight was difficult.
This was Manisha's fourth attempt at the World Championships. She had competed in the 2023, 2024 and 2025 editions as well but could never manage to finish on the podium. Weight category was one of the issues as she was competing in 62kg or 65kg before switching to 57kg for the 2026 Asian Games. "When I started, I didn't know which weight category to choose. In 62kg I was doing good but my short frame (5-feet 2-inch) was proving to be a deterrent as most of the European wrestlers are tall and that made it difficult for me to compete against them. I had already competed in three Worlds without a positive result and the 2028 LA Games were also approaching, so I decided to move down to 57kg," she had told this mast on Thursday.
Epic comeback
Despite Manisha trailing 1-6 after the first period, the Indian camp was not worried as they had strategized for it. "We have seen seven to eight videos of her opponent's previous bouts. We saw them at night and then saw them again in the morning and before the bout. One thing which stood out was the fact that the American usually gets tired in the last minute of the second period," Virender Dahiya, the India women's team coach, said.
To begin with, the American wrestler executed a four-pointer in the first period but the Indian camp challenged the decision only to lose it. Trailing 0-5, the Indian wrestler was issued a caution a few seconds later and it eventually extended her opponent's lead to 6-0. Manisha then got a stepout to make it 1-6 at the break.
As they expected, Manisha then effected a takedown to earn two points in the second period and was awarded one more point after unsuccessful challenge by the US camp. She then used a gut wrench for two points and levelled the score at 6-6. With one-and-a-half-minute left for the final whistle, Manisha once again scored a takedown to take 8-6 lead and defended it to win the historic gold medal.
"So we have decided that we will launch an attack in the last 60 seconds. It was good that Manisha had recovered even before that and levelled the score. She used the last 60 seconds to score winning points," added the coach.
With Manisha's gold, India women finished with four medals (two silver and a bronze) making the ongoing campaign the most successful for the country in the event.
