Vinesh Phogat: Only Indian Woman to win 2 World Wrestling Championship Medals

Star Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat beat Sweden's Jonna Malmgren to win a bronze medal in 53kg at the World Wrestling Championships 2022 in Belgrade.

This is Vinesh's second medal at the Worlds after she won her maiden world medal in 2019.
She is the only Indian woman who had achieved this feat.
She made a qualification round exit at the hands of Mongolia’s Khulan Batkhuyag. The eventual silver medallist triumphed in the bout 7-0 against Vinesh. However, luck favoured the Indian soon as she entered the bronze medal rounds via repechage.
Vinesh dominated the repechage rounds as she pinned two-time World Championship medallist Zhuldyz Eshimova of Kazakhstan in the first bout, followed by a walkover win over Azerbaijan’s Leyla Gurbanova, to set up a final clash with reigning European champion Malmgren.

What is Repechage?

The word repechage comes from a French term, repecher. It means fish out or rescue. Generally, the rule allows competitors who have lost early to get a second chance. Wrestlers who lose in pre-quarterfinals or at a later stage get a chance to fight for bronze medals.
The idea behind the rule is that a good wrestler who loses out to a top rival early on should not suffer just because of the tough draw.
Wrestlers can enter the repechage round if an opponent they have lost to reaches the final. They fight on the basis of mini-draws that involve wrestlers of their respective halves. The losing semifinalists fight only in the bronze medal playoffs.
Apart from wrestling, the repechage system is used in several other disciplines including baseball, softball, beach volleyball, cycling, fencing, rowing, rugby, sailing, track and field athletics, taekwondo, and karate.