From KD Jadhav to Bajrang Punia, India’s famous wrestlers over the years

Though wrestling has always been a popular sport in India, consistent international success has only started coming in since the turn of the 20th century.

While KD Jadhav won India their maiden wrestling Olympic medal, a bronze, at Helsinki 1952, it took India another 56 years to clinch a second podium finish at the Summer Games. Sushil Kumar ended the drought by winning the bronze medal at Beijing 2008.

The likes of Sakshi Malik, Yogeshwar Dutt, Bajrang Punia and Ravi Kumar Dahiya have since ensured India’s rapid rise in the sport by winning medals regularly at the Asian and Commonwealth Games. Indian grapplers have also returned with at least one medal from every Olympic Games held since 2008.

Here, we glance through the best amateur wrestlers who have done India proud on the international arena.

KD Jadhav

Hailing from a small village of Goleshwar in Maharashtra, wrestler Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav became India’s first individual Olympic medallist at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics.

KD Jadhav’s journey to the Olympic podium, however, wasn’t easy. KD Jadhav had to run from pillar to post for funding after failing to win a medal on his Olympic debut at London 1948.

KD Jadhav crowd-funded his trip to the Helsinki Games where he lost to eventual gold medallist Shohachi Ishii of Japan before eventually settling for bronze.

KD Jadhav was determined to upgrade the colour of his medal at Melbourne 1956 but a serious knee injury cut his ambition short.

Udey Chand

Inspired by KD Jadhav’s heroics, Udey Chand, in 1961, became the first Indian wrestler to win a world championship medal - bronze in the 67kg category.

In the following year at the Asian Games, Udey Chand competed in the 70kg freestyle and Greco-Roman events and won silver medals in both competitions.

Udey Chand represented India at three Olympic Games between 1960 to 1968 but could not finish on the podium.

Alka Tomar

Sakshi Malik and the Phogat sisters are familiar names today but it was Alka Tomar who laid the foundation for women’s wrestling in India.

Alka Tomar won the gold medal at the Commonwealth championships in 2005 but created history the following year at the world championships.

Alka Tomar, at the age of 20, won bronze in the 59kg division to become the first Indian woman to win a medal at the wrestling world championships. It was also India’s first world championships medal in 39 years. Alka Tomar also won gold at the Commonwealth Games in 2010.

Sushil Kumar

Wrestling’s popularity in India sky-rocketed with Sushil Kumar’s 66kg freestyle bronze at the Beijing 2008 Olympics.

Sushil Kumar followed it up by becoming the first Indian wrestler to win the world championships gold medal in 2010. A silver at the London Olympics in 2012 then made him the first Indian to win two individual Olympic medals in any sport.

Sushil Kumar is the only Indian wrestling world champion to date and is also a three-time Commonwealth Games champion.

Yogeshwar Dutt

Yogeshwar Dutt’s bronze medal at the London 2012 Olympics complimented Sushil’s feat as India found two heroes making their mark on the international stage.

The way Dutt won his medal at London 2012, despite suffering a grievous eye injury during the event, has been an inspiration to many Indian wrestlers. He has also acted as a mentor to future generations of wrestlers, including another Olympic medallist Bajrang Punia.

Yogeshwar Dutt is a two-time Commonwealth Games champion and won Asian Games gold in 2014 in the 65kg category.

Sakshi Malik

While Geeta Phogat and Babita Phogat were India’s celebrated wrestlers going into the Rio 2016, Sakshi Malik, competing in the 58kg weight division, quietly went about her job and became the first Indian woman’s wrestler to win a medal at Olympic Games.

Sakshi Malik won gold at the Commonwealth championships in 2017 and a bronze at the 2018 Commonwealth Games before a series of injuries disrupted her career.

After missing the Tokyo Olympics, Sakshi Malik bounced back by winning a gold medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham but retired from the sport in December 2023.

Geeta Phogat

Though Geeta Phogat hasn’t won a medal at Olympics, she has the distinction of being the first Indian woman wrestler to qualify for the Olympics in 2012.

Though she failed to make a lasting mark at London 2012, Geeta Phogat made a comeback after the disappointment and bagged a bronze medal at the world championships in the 55kg weight class later that same year.

Geeta Phogat also became the first Indian woman to win a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in 2010.

Babita Phogat

While Geeta Phogat’s gold was one of the highlights of the New Delhi Commonwealth Games in 2010, her younger sister Babita Phogat wasn’t far behind with a silver in the 51kg category.

After failing to make the cut for London 2012, Babita won bronze at the world championships in September and went on to represent India at the 2016 Rio Games.

Babita also won a gold medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Vinesh Phogat

Following in the footsteps of older cousins Geeta and Babita Phogat, Vinesh Phogat has been the flagbearer of Indian women’s wrestling in recent years.

Vinesh has also won gold at Asian Games in 2018 and is a three-time Commonwealth Games champion. The 2019 and 2022 world championships bronze medallist also has eight Asian championships medals to her name.

Vinesh Phogat represented India at the 2016, 2020 and 2024 Olympics but could not win any medal. At Paris 2024, she made the final in the women's 50kg division but was eventually disqualified after failing to make weight on the day of the gold medal bout.

Bajrang Punia

With a silver in 2018 and a bronze each in 2013 and 2019, Bajrang Punia is the only Indian to have won three world championships medals till date.

Bajrang Punia won the bronze in 65kg at Tokyo 2020 and became the Commonwealth and Asian Games champion in 2018. He also won silver at the Commonwealth and Asian Games in 2014 and is a two-time Asian champion.

Ravi Kumar Dahiya

Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Ravi Kumar Dahiya is also a three-time Asian Champion. No Indian wrestler has managed to win gold at the Asian Championships three times in a row.

The Haryana grappler has also won a world championships bronze in 2019.

Aman Sehrawat

Ravi Dahiya's injury in the lead-up to the Paris Olympics saw Aman Sehrawat step into his shoes in the men's 57kg division and win India a bronze in the category at Paris 2024. Aman is also an Asian champion from 2023 and won the bronze medal at the Asian Games that year.

Sehrawat also holds the distinction of being the first-ever Indian to win a gold medal at the Under-23 World Championships. He won a gold in 2022. He is also the youngest Indian to ever win an individual Olympic medal in history. PV Sindhu held the record previously.

Antim Panghal

Antim Panghal's stock skyrocketed in 2022 after the youngster won a gold medal at the U20 World Wrestling Championships, becoming India's first-ever U20 world champion in history. Since then, there has been no looking back. She successfully defended her junior crown next year and also won the Asian Games bronze.

The pick of Antim's fledgling career so far, however, has been a bronze medal from her debut World Championships in 2023. The youngster has slowly yet steadily displaced Vinesh as India's premier grappler in the women's 53kg category and also represented India in the division at Paris 2024, forcing Vinesh down to the 50kg.

Best Indian wrestlers