Chirag Chikkara Leads India to Gold at U23 World Wrestling Championships

Chirag Chikkara made history by becoming only the third Indian wrestler to win the Under-23 World Championship, contributing to India’s impressive total of nine medals at the tournament. Competing in the men’s freestyle 57kg category, Chikkara secured a thrilling victory with a narrow 4-3 win over Abdymalik Karachov of Kyrgyzstan in the final seconds of the match.

India’s Performance at the U23 World Wrestling Championships

Chirag Chikkara’s Historic Win

• Became only the third Indian to win a gold medal at the Under-23 World Championships.
• Competed in the men’s freestyle 57kg category, winning a close final match against Abdymalik Karachov of Kyrgyzstan (4-3).
• Second Indian male to achieve this title, following Aman Sehrawat’s gold in 2022.

Medal Tally

India secured a total of nine medals at the championships,

• 1 Gold Medal: Chirag Chikkara (Men’s Freestyle 57kg)
• 2 Silver Medals
• 6 Bronze Medals

India placed fourth in the overall team rankings with 82 points, behind Iran (158), Japan (102), and Azerbaijan (100).

Notable Matches

Chikkara’s path to the final

• Defeated Gaukoto Ozawa (6-1) in pre-quarters.
• Overcame Iunus Iavbatirov (12-2) in quarterfinals.
• Dominated Allan Oralbek (8-0) in semifinals.
• Vicky won a bronze in the men’s 97kg freestyle, defeating Ivan Prymachenko (7-2) in the bronze medal match.
• Sujeet Kalkal won bronze in the men’s 70kg freestyle, overcoming Mustafo Akhmedov (13-4) after a comeback from being down 0-4.
• Vishvajit More earned a bronze in the men’s 55kg Greco-Roman category, rounding off India’s impressive tally at the championships. 

Women’s Team Achievements

The Indian women’s wrestling team performed admirably, securing,

• 1 Silver Medal: Anjli (59kg category).
• 3 Bronze Medals: Neha Sharma (57kg), Shiksha (65kg), and Monika (68kg).

Earlier History

• Ravi Kumar Dahiya had also won a silver in the U23 World Championships in 2018.
• Abhishek Dhaka had earlier won a bronze as India finished with four medals (one gold and three bronze), bettering their previous year’s performance where they had bagged two bronze in the freestyle category.