ALBANIA, Oct 28: At the U23 World Wrestling Championships held in Tirana, Albania, India wrapped up its campaign with a total of nine medals, including a gold medal won by Chirag Chikkara in the men’s freestyle 57kg category.
The Championships were held from October 21-27. On the final day of competition, Chirag edged out Kyrgyzstan’s Abdymalik Karachov with a score of 4-3, making him only the second Indian male wrestler and the third overall to secure gold at the U23 World Championships.
This gold medal marked India’s only victory at this year’s event. Aman Sehrawat had previously become the first Indian to achieve gold in 2022, while Reetika Hooda won the title in the women’s 76kg category last year. Ravi Kumar Dahiya also secured a silver medal in the 57kg category in 2018.
To clinch his gold in Tirana, Chirag overcame Kazakhstan’s Allan Oralbek in the semifinals after a dominant quarterfinal win against Iunus Iavbatirov, finishing with a score of 12-2. He began his tournament by defeating Japan’s Gatuko Ozawa 6-1.
In addition to Chirag’s achievement, Sujeet Kalkal earned a bronze medal in the men’s freestyle 70kg category with a strong 13-4 victory over Tajikistan’s Mustafo Akhmedov. Vicky Chahar also secured a bronze in the men’s freestyle 97kg category, defeating former U20 World Championships silver medallist Ivan Prymachenko of Ukraine 7-2. Both Sujeet and Vicky made impressive recoveries after falling short in the semifinals.
On Saturday, Abhishek Dhaka (61kg) brought home India’s first men’s freestyle wrestling medal of the championships. The Indian men’s freestyle team finished fourth overall, achieving four medals, behind Iran, Japan, and Azerbaijan.
The Indian women’s freestyle wrestling team placed fifth, winning four medals, including a silver by Anjli (59kg) and three bronze medals. In contrast, India struggled in the Greco-Roman category, finishing in 12th place with only one bronze medal, awarded to Vishwajit Ramchandra More in the 55kg category.
Overall, India’s performance at the championships included one gold, one silver, and seven bronze medals, reflecting a strong showing in the competition.
