Indian wrestler Reetika Hooda lost a close quarter-final bout against Aiperi Medet Kyzy of Kyrgyzstan in the women's 76 kg freestyle category at the Paris Olympics on Saturday.

The wrestlers were locked 1-1 after six minutes of top-quality defensive wrestling but the Kyrgyz won having logged home the last equalising point as per rules.

Both wrestlers played a defensive game and the solitary point each was scored through passivity across the two periods.

Reetika will now wait for Kyzy to enter the final which will give her a shot at competing in the repechage round.

Earlier, Reetika displayed power and skill in equal measure while outclassing Hungarian Bernadett Nagy to enter the quarter-final of the women's 76 kg freestyle event on Saturday.

The referee stopped the contest with 29 seconds left in the second round as Reetika gained a 10-point lead with the final score reading 12-2 in favour of the Indian.

The burly Reetika gained upper-hand with 4-0 lead in the first round after getting an early leg-hold followed by a flip.

The Hungarian did get a couple of points but the Indian was unstoppable in the second round with a series of two pointers.

• THE OLYMPICS, 2024