Indian freestyle wrestlers disappoint at U-17 World Championships

India’s men’s freestyle wrestlers could not replicate the success of their women counterparts at the Under-17 World Championships as none of the five grapplers in action on Friday could make the semifinals, here.

Out of the five, only two — Harsh and Vevik — managed to win a round.

Harsh (48kg) began with a confident 6-2 win over Erbol Bolotov but was outsmarted by Chingis Saryglar in the quarterfinal.

In the 55kg category, Jaiveer Singh fell at the first hurdle, losing on criteria (3-3) to Azatberdi Ashyrgulyev, who later lost his quarterfinal to end the Indian’s chance of making a comeback through repechage.

In 65kg, Sagar lost his qualification bout 5-7 to Bakdaulet Akimzhan and will now have to wait to know if the repechage route opens up for him.

READ | U-17 World Wrestling Championships 2024: India wins four gold medals in women’s freestyle

Vevik began with a decent 11-4 victory over Aliaksei Kuryla but lost his quarterfinal bout by technical superiority to Nikoloz Maisuradze.

In the 110kg bout, Jaspooran Singh lost on criteria (1-1) to Kazakhstan’s Yedige Kassimbek.

In the women’s event, four new world champions emerged and two — Kajal (69kg) and Shrutika Shivaji Patil (46kg) — are in gold medal contention.

Aditi Kumari (43kg), Neha (57kg), Pulkit (65kg) and Mansi Lather (73kg) won the world titles in their respective categories.