EXPLAINED: Why wrestler Reetika Hooda lost quarterfinal despite the scores being tied at 1-1? Can she still win India a medal?

At the end of the quarterfinal bout in the women’s 76kg freestyle wrestling both Reetika Hooda and Aiperi Medet Kyzy were bent double. They were gasping, looking exhausted, because the six minutes of wrestling action that preceded that moment was — quite literally — breathtaking. Not because it was a high-scoring bout that witnessed some crazy takedowns (like the 5-pointer that we saw earlier in the day from an American grappler that left everyone stunned). But because this was a cagey affair dominated by stout defence. In the end, the scoreboard read 1-1 and top seed Medet Kyzy reached the semifinal.

‘Wait, what?’ you must be wondering. Here’s why Reetika lost despite being tied 1-1 on the scoreboard.

What happened in the bout?

The Kyrgyzstan wrestler began on an aggressive note with a double leg attack but Reetika, using her immense upper body power, held her ground. Had it not been for a strong defence, Reetika could have been flipped by Aiperi for a takedown.

Reetika got the first point on Aiperi’s passivity in the first period but she was also put on the clock in the second period and lost the lead for lack of attacking move. The Kyrgyz wrestler got hold of Reetika’s right leg but the Indian again did well and wriggled out of her rival’s grip. After getting the equaliser, Aiperi just needed to defend and she did that by using all her experience, keeping Reetika in a head-lock position.

What is the tiebreaker?

Despite both wrestlers getting just 1 point each for passivity, the tiebreaker went against Reetika because of countback.

The order of tiebreakers in wrestling are also follows:

– the highest value of holds;
– the least amount of cautions;
– the last technical point(s) scored

Examples: If the wrestler in red scores 1 1 1 1 1 1 for 6 points total, and the wrestler in blue registers 1 2 1 1 1 for 6 points also, then the red wrestler wins because the first tiebreaker is the highest value of a takedown. The red wrestler gets it because they had a 2-pointer. The 2nd tiebreaker is cautions, which is self-explanatory.

Now if the wrestler in red scores 1 1 1, and the wrestler in blue scores 1 1 1, and if the last technical point scored was by the blue wrestler, then blue wins. This is the rule that got Reetika knocked out.

Is her chance of a medal over?

No, not yet. Wrestling employs a system called repechage. Repechage essentially means a second chance. If a sport has repechage, it means that the athlete will get one more chance to compete and move into further rounds and possibly the final, even if they have lost once in the initial rounds.

In wrestling, repechage is applicable only for bronze medal positions (unlike rowing and athletics, where you can still be in contention for any medal if you come through repechage). A wrestling athlete becomes eligible for repechage if the opponent who beat them, reaches the final. So, given there are two finalists, there will be two layers of repechage. Only for all the wrestlers who lost to the finalist in the top half, and ditto for the bottom half.

So in Reetika’s case today, she will become active for repechage if Medet Kyzy defeats USA’s Kennedy Blades in the semifinal later tonight.

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