India's Wrestling Prowess Shines at U23 World Championships

The Indian wrestling team concluded its campaign at the U23 World Wrestling Championships 2024 with a commendable nine medals, including one gold, one silver, and seven bronze medals. The tournament took place in Tirana, Albania, from October 21-27.

Chirag secured India's only gold medal in the men's 57 kg category, marking a significant achievement as he became the third Indian wrestler to win the top spot at the championships. This follows in the footsteps of Olympic medalist Aman Sehrawat (men's 57 kg) in 2022 and Reetika Hooda (women's 76 kg) in 2023.

Tokyo Olympics 2020 medalist Ravi Kumar Dahiya had previously clinched a silver medal in the same weight category in 2018. Anji bagged the silver medal for India in the women's 59 kg category.

Monika continued her impressive run at the championships, securing a second consecutive bronze medal, this time in the 68 kg category after winning bronze in the women's 65 kg last year. Sujeet, a former U20 World Championships bronze medalist and a participant in the Paris 2024 Olympic qualifiers, earned a bronze medal in the men's 70 kg freestyle. Vicky's bronze in the men's 97 kg makes him the first Indian heavyweight medalist at the U23 World Championships.

India's nine-medal haul at this year's championships follows their performance at last year's event, where they secured nine medals, including one gold, two silver, and six bronze medals.

The U23 World Championships saw 664 grapplers from various countries compete across ten weight categories each in men's and women's freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling.