New Delhi:
Justine Bouchard underlined Canada's dominance of women's freestyle wrestling at the Commonwealth Games on Thursday, beating Blessing Oborududu of Nigeria to take gold in the 63kg final.
Bouchard, who had shown a ruthless streak to breeze past her opponents in the knockout stages, found the going much tougher in a gruelling duel against the African champion.
"It's just awesome," she said after the victory. "It lets me know that I worked hard and I earned that as she was such a tough competitor."
Bouchard, who had described her wrestling style before the final as "typically more aggressive", said Oborududu put her under huge pressure from the off.
"She came at me wanting a piece of me straight away," she said.
The Nigerian went in harder at the start, securing an early point as she forced Bouchard to the floor, holding on to win the first session 1-0.
Neither wrestler was able to assert herself, however, and as they grappled for supremacy on the mat it looked like an immovable force had hit an unstoppable object.
Boucher began to get the upper hand however, going up three points in the second session with cleverly worked throws and ground manoeuvres before the hooter went at 3-1.
Neither wrestler was willing to cede an inch in the third but finally Oborududu began to tire and Bouchard notched up two more points with nifty groundwork to take a well-deserved title.
The Nigerian took defeat badly, saying afterwards: "I don't feel good. I wanted gold, I made too many big mistakes."
Unwilling to concede that she had been beaten by a better opponent, she fumed: "I'm way better than her. In Nigeria, I'm a champion."
Suman Kundu of India gave the home crowd something to cheer about when she beat South Africa's Zumicke Geringer 7-2 in a hard-fought three-session bout to take the bronze which she dedicated to her coach, father and the "entire nation".
"It is still a special feeling since I am the first woman to win Commonwealth Games bronze for my country," she said. "It was also special since my father was watching me from the stands here."
India's women have some way to go before they can match the achievements of the men's team which took a clean sweep on the opening day and has so far won four golds.
Asked about the gap between men's and women's wrestling in India, Kundu said: "We work hard in the training sessions but maybe the men work harder."
Bouchard, who had shown a ruthless streak to breeze past her opponents in the knockout stages, found the going much tougher in a gruelling duel against the African champion.
"It's just awesome," she said after the victory. "It lets me know that I worked hard and I earned that as she was such a tough competitor."
Bouchard, who had described her wrestling style before the final as "typically more aggressive", said Oborududu put her under huge pressure from the off.
"She came at me wanting a piece of me straight away," she said.
The Nigerian went in harder at the start, securing an early point as she forced Bouchard to the floor, holding on to win the first session 1-0.
Neither wrestler was able to assert herself, however, and as they grappled for supremacy on the mat it looked like an immovable force had hit an unstoppable object.
Boucher began to get the upper hand however, going up three points in the second session with cleverly worked throws and ground manoeuvres before the hooter went at 3-1.
Neither wrestler was willing to cede an inch in the third but finally Oborududu began to tire and Bouchard notched up two more points with nifty groundwork to take a well-deserved title.
The Nigerian took defeat badly, saying afterwards: "I don't feel good. I wanted gold, I made too many big mistakes."
Unwilling to concede that she had been beaten by a better opponent, she fumed: "I'm way better than her. In Nigeria, I'm a champion."
Suman Kundu of India gave the home crowd something to cheer about when she beat South Africa's Zumicke Geringer 7-2 in a hard-fought three-session bout to take the bronze which she dedicated to her coach, father and the "entire nation".
"It is still a special feeling since I am the first woman to win Commonwealth Games bronze for my country," she said. "It was also special since my father was watching me from the stands here."
India's women have some way to go before they can match the achievements of the men's team which took a clean sweep on the opening day and has so far won four golds.
Asked about the gap between men's and women's wrestling in India, Kundu said: "We work hard in the training sessions but maybe the men work harder."
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