U-23 Wrestling World C’ships 2024: Chirag Chikkara clinches gold as India shine with nine medals

Chirag Chikkara became the third Indian to be crowned Under-23 World Champion as India capped a rich haul of nine medals at the age group tournament here.

Chikkara, competing in the men’s freestyle 57kg category, eked out a narrow 4-3 in the closing seconds of the final to beat Abdymalik Karachov of Kyrgyzstan.

He is the second Indian man, after Paris Olympics bronze medallist Aman Sehrawat, to win gold at the U23 Championships.

Sehrawat had achieved the feat in the same category in the 2022 edition of the meet while Reetika Hooda had become the first Indian woman to bag a gold at the tournament when she won in the 76kg category last year.

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Ravi Kumar Dahiya had also won a silver in the U23 World Championships in 2018.

Chikkara reached the final after a series of dominant performances, defeating Gaukoto Ozawa 6-1 in the pre-quarterfinals, Iunus Iavbatirov 12-2 in the last eight stage and Allan Oralbek 8-0 in the semifinals.

India’s medal haul includes one gold, one silver and seven bronze, placing the nation fourth in the team standings with 82 points, trailing Iran (158), Japan (102) and Azerbaijan (100).

Vicky defeated former U20 World Championships silver medalist and European junior champion Ivan Prymachenko of Ukraine with a convincing 7-2 margin to win bronze in the men’s 97kg freestyle event, the highest weight category at which India has medalled at this tournament.

Having narrowly missed a final berth the other day, Sujeet Kalkal bounced back from being 0-4 down to beat Mustafo Akhmedov of Tajikistan 13-4 and won bronze in men’s 70kg freestyle. Abhishek Dhaka had earlier won a bronze.

The Indian women’s wrestling team also excelled, bringing home one silver and three bronze medals: Anjli claimed silver in the 59kg category, while Neha Sharma (57kg), Shiksha (65kg), and Monika (68kg) each secured bronze.

Additionally, Vishvajit More earned a bronze in the men’s 55kg Greco-Roman category, rounding off India’s impressive tally at the championships.