World U20 Wrestling Championships 2022: Sumit, Rohit win bronze; India finish with 16 medals
The haul of one gold, four silvers and 11 bronze medals was India’s best-ever performance at the junior world championships.
Indian Greco-Roman wrestlers Sumit and Rohit Dahiya won bronze medals on the final day of the World U20 Wrestling Championships 2022 in Sofia, Bulgaria on Sunday.
Rohit Dahiya, who won silver and bronze at the Asian juniors earlier this year, beat Ukraine’s Ruslan Abdiiev 8-7 in the 82kg after his opponent got three cautions during the bout in the bronze medal playoff.
Meanwhile, world cadet bronze-medallist Sumit beat Turkish wrestler Mert Ilbars, a world junior bronze-medallist and world cadet silver-medallist, 6-3 by points to secure his podium finish in the 60kg Greco-Roman category.
ओलम्पिक और खेल खबरे हिन्दी में: यहां क्लिक करें
The two medals on the final day meant that India ended the World U20 Wrestling Championships 2022 with 16 medals - one gold, four silvers and 11 bronze medals - by far their best performance at the junior world wrestling championships.
The gold medal came from Antim Panghal, who made history by becoming the first Indian woman to become a world champion in U20 wrestling.
It helped the Indian women finish second in the women’s freestyle team rankings with 160 points. Japan was ranked first in the women’s freestyle with 230 points.
Six Indians won medals in the men’s freestyle, which meant that India ranked third in the men’s freestyle team rankings with 112 points. Iran (159) and the USA (132) took the top-two spots.
India’s Mahendra Gaikwad was the standout performer in the men’s freestyle, becoming the first Indian to reach the final of a junior world championship in the men's 125kg, eventually taking the silver.
Indian medallists at World U20 Wrestling Championships 2022
Women’s freestyle
Antim Panghal - Gold medal in women’s 53kg
Sonam Malik - Silver medal in women’s 62kg
Priyanka - Silver medal in women’s 65kg
Priya Malik - Silver medal in women’s 76kg
Priyanshi Prajapat - Bronze medal in women’s 50kg
Sito - Bronze medal in women’s 57kg
Reetika - Bronze medal in women’s 72kg
Men’s freestyle
Mahendra Gaikwad - Silver medal in men’s 125kg
Abhishek Dhaka - Bronze medal in men’s 57kg
Mohit Kumar - Bronze medal in men’s 61kg
Sujeet Kalkal - Bronze medal in men’s 65kg
Mulayam Yadav - Bronze medal in men’s 70kg
Sagar Jaglan - Bronze medal in men’s 74kg
Neeraj Bhardwaj - Bronze medal in men’s 97kg
Greco-Roman
Sumit - Bronze medal in men’s 60kg
Rohit Dahiya - Bronze medal in men’s 82kg