India's Babita Kumari was outsmarted 5-1 by Maria Prevolaraki of Greece in the round of 16 of the women's 53 kg category in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday. Prevolaraki was then beaten 6-3 by Angelica Arguello of Venezuela in the quarterfinals, thus bringing to an end to Babita's campaign on Olympic debut.
Reigning Commonwealth champion Babita began aggressively, but it was 2013 Mediterranean Games gold medallist Prevolaraki who opened her account on the minute mark by pushing Babita out of bounds. Prevolaraki showed great tactical awareness in reversing an attempted leg lock from Babita to log two more points to take a 3-0 lead at the end of the first period of three minutes.
Prevolaraki, who also picked up a silver at the European championships in 2014, was penalised for passivity early in the second period, which brought Babita her first point in the bout. With just two minutes left on the clock, Babita went for a double-leg hold, but her 24-year-old opponent was able to reverse the manoeuvre and pick up two more points.
The last 60 seconds saw an all-out attack from Babita, including an attempt to garner points by grabbing Prevolaraki's left leg and trying to gain control of the situation. However, the Greek wrestler stood firm and was able to see herself through to a 5-1 win on points.