Vishvajit More became the first Indian Greco-Roman wrestler to win a silver medal at the U23 World Championship, while Komal and Diskha Malik remain in contention for bronze. More, who already has two U23 World Championship bronze medals in his collection, was gunning for a historic gold but finished second after losing the fiercely fought final 12-13 to Georgia’s Koba Karumidze.
He opened his campaign with a close 10-8 win over Mexico’s Isaac Marin Mata, then beat Iranian U20 world champion Armin Shamsipour 8-1 in the quarterfinals. The semifinal against Russia’s Malik Gigiev was also a close affair in which he prevailed 7-4.
The other Indian Greco-Roman wrestlers in the fray could not reach the medal round, with Chetan (63kg) losing his pre-quarterfinal and Karan Kamboj (87kg) suffering a heavy technical superiority defeat in the qualification round.
In the women’s event, Komal lost her semifinal to Ukraine’s Alina Filipovych by technical superiority and will now fight for bronze.
Diksha Malik (76kg) is also alive in the bronze-medal race, but Mansi Lather (68kg) bowed out after losing her quarterfinal 9-10 to Laura Godino from Italy.