Indian wrestler Komal opened India’s medal account in women’s wrestling at the U23 World Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas, winning bronze in the women’s 59kg category on Friday, October 16. Meanwhile, Amruta Pujari stormed into the final of the women’s 72kg category to put herself in contention for a gold medal.
Komal defeated Kazakhstan’s Viktoriia Khusainova 7-2 in the bronze medal bout to secure a podium finish. She began her campaign with a victory over Canada’s Ella Marie Finding before overcoming Moldova’s Madalina Prisacari 8-3.
However, the Indian wrestler suffered a 1-13 defeat against Ukraine’s Alina Filipovych. The loss did not end her medal hopes, as Komal bounced back in the bronze medal contest to finish her campaign with a medal.
Amruta Pujari reaches 72kg final
Amruta Pujari continued India’s strong showing by reaching the women’s 72kg final. She secured her place in the gold medal bout after pinning China’s Wenjin Qiu in the semifinal.
Pujari will now face Ukraine’s Iryna Zablotska in the final on Saturday, October 17, as she looks to add a gold medal to India’s tally at the U23 World Championships.
Sweety, Vaishnavi Patil remain in medal contention
Meanwhile, Sweety in the women’s 53kg category and Vaishnavi Patil in the 65kg category remain in contention for bronze medals through the repechage route.
Sweety lost her quarterfinal bout 2-11 against Cristelle Rodriguez Dobler, who subsequently advanced to the final. This gives the Indian wrestler an opportunity to continue her campaign through repechage. She is scheduled to face China’s Xiaotong Zeng for a place in the bronze medal bout.
Vaishnavi Patil, meanwhile, suffered a quarterfinal defeat against Russia’s Ekaterina Koshkina by technical superiority. She will take on Japan’s Haruka Kobaru in the repechage round.
India clinched historic silver in Greco-Roman Wrestling
Earlier on Thursday, Vishvajit Ramchandra More created history by winning India’s first-ever silver medal in the Greco-Roman category at the U23 World Championships.
The two-time U23 World Championships bronze medallist narrowly lost 12-13 to Georgia’s Koba Karumidze in the men’s 55kg Greco-Roman final, conceding defeat in the closing seconds.
At the previous edition of the U23 World Championships in Novi Sad, Serbia, India finished with nine medals, including one gold, one silver and seven bronze.
Visa issues affect India’s participation
India could not field wrestlers in several weight categories at the ongoing championships after visa applications were denied to athletes who were under 20 years of age and did not have full-time jobs, according to the report.
The affected women’s freestyle categories were 50kg, 55kg, 57kg and 62kg, while the missing Greco-Roman categories were 60kg, 77kg, 82kg, 97kg and 130kg.
