Junior World Championship Bronze medalist Wrestler Nisha Dahiya rubbishes rumours of death

It was a strange day for Indian sports fans and more so for the Indian Wrestling community as Nisha Dahiya was claimed dead but after clarification, it turned out to be some other Nisha. News surfaced that a wrestler named Nisha was shot dead at an akhara in Sonepat, Haryana.

The news shocked thousands of people as they thought it was Nisha Dahiya. The young wrestler however had no idea about it as she was sparring with Rio Olympics medalist Sakshi Malik. But as she turned on her phone there were messages of random people sharing their condolences with her picture. It was only then she understood that there was a massive misunderstanding.

“It was very stressful. I spoke to my family and they too were a bit disturbed by the news. I assured them I was okay. A little later, I figured this was a case of mistaken identity,” Nisha told The Indian Express.

She recently won a bronze medal at the U23 Wrestling Championship and now she is training in Gonda, Uttar Pradesh for  National Championships that will begin on Thursday.

Sakshi Malik who was also with the youngster posted a picture with Nisha on Twitter.  “She is alive,” Sakshi tweeted along with the picture. Minutes later, Nisha released a video message, following advice from the Wrestling Federation of India.

The young wrestler who competes in the 65kg category was busy cutting her weight and this confusion has created a lot of problems for her. “My bout is scheduled tomorrow. As is the routine, today I am in the middle of cutting my weight so I haven’t eaten properly. The confusion hasn’t helped the process and preparation for the nationals,” Nisha said.

There are lot of expectations from the young wrestler to perform at her best in the Senior Nationals. To succeed at the big stage Nisha spars with Sakshi regularly and it was after her sparring session she got this shocking news.

Nisha was among the five Indian wrestlers to win medals at the U-23 World Championship in Belgrade and on Wednesday morning, Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised her performance in a tweet.

The upcoming Nationals will also be of huge significance for Nisha as the medallist here will get to compete in the selection trials for next year’s Commonwealth Games. It will be interesting to see how the youngster manages her nerves at the bout after a very stressful day filled with shock.