World Wrestling C'ships: Indian wrestlers seek to extend their medal-winning streak – Preview

A 30-member Indian contingent is all set to compete at the 2025 World Wrestling Championships, aiming to extend their streak of consecutive medals to 8 years.

The 2025 edition of this global showdown will take place in Zagreb, Croatia, from September 13 to 21, with 30 medal events across three categories – Men's and Women's Freestyle and Men's Greco-Roman.

India will have representation in every category, but only two of those athletes have a world championships medal before, i.e, Antim Panghal (bronze in 2023), Deepak Punia (silver in 2019).

Medal Chances

Aman Sehrawat: The Paris Olympic medalist Aman Sehrawat will be aiming to clinch his first-ever world championships medal in Croatia.

He is the third-seeded wrestler in the men's 57 kg category and hence will avoid the top wrestlers till the semi-finals, which will increase his chances of bringing home a medal.

Antim Panghal: The youngster Antim Panghal is among the few wrestlers who have a chance to reach the gold medal match and earn India's second gold medal at the world championships.

After her heartbreaking early exit at the Paris Olympics, Antim will be hoping to bounce back and clinch her second consecutive world championships medal.

Sujeet Kalkal: The in-form wrestler Sujeet Kalkal has a tough draw in the men's 65 Kg, starting with the round of 32 bout against Turkiye's Cavit Acar.

He will be the favourite in this matchup, but in the following rounds, he has two tougher potential opponents from North Korea and then the Paris Olympic finalist Rahman Amouzad of Iran in the quarter-finals.

Manisha Bhanwala: The reigning Asian champion, Manisha Bhanwala is the sixth seed in the women's 62kg, which is considered to be one of the toughest categories of the competition.

Since her Asian triumph, Manisha had a mixed result in the ranking series, where she won a bronze in Hungary and faced a group stage exit in Mongolia.

She has never won a world championship medal but has four continental medals to her name. Now, she will be hoping to convert her success on the global stage as well.

Deepak Punia: The Olympian and former silver medalist Deepak Punia is unseeded in the men's 92 kg category and hence will have to compete from the first round onwards.

Deepak will begin his campaign with a bout against Austria's Benjamil Griel, but if he clinches a win in that bout, he will face the 4th-seeded Osman Nurmagomedov of Azerbaijan in the second round.

For a shot at a medal, Deepak may need to overcome three-time world medalist Osman, who faces a challenging path ahead and might not offer Deepak a repechage opportunity.

Indian Squad of the 2025 World Wrestling Championships

Women's Freestyle: Ankush (50 Kg), Antim Panghal (53 Kg), Nishu (55 Kg), Tapasya (57 Kg), Sarika (59 Kg), Manisha Bhanwala (62 Kg), Vaishnavi Patil (65 Kg), Radhika (68 Kg), Jyoti Berwal (72 Kg), Priya Malik (76 Kg)

Men's Freestyle: Aman (57 Kg), Udit (61 Kg), Sujeet Kalkal (65 Kg), Rohit (70 Kg), Vikash Kumar (74 Kg), Amit (79 Kg), Mukul Dahiya (86 Kg), Deepak Punia (92 Kg), Vicky (97 Kg), Rajat Ruhal (125 Kg)

Men's Greco-Roman: Anil Mor (55 Kg), Suraj (60 Kg), Sunny Kumar (63 Kg), Anil (67 Kg), Ankit Gulia (72 Kg), Aman (77 Kg), Rahul (82 Kg), Karan Kamboj (87 Kg), Nitesh (97 Kg), Sonu (130 Kg)

Schedule of the World Wrestling Championships 2025 (All Timings in IST)

13th September

2:00 PM - Qualification round (Men's Freestyle -61-70-86-125Kg)

9:30 PM - Opening Ceremony

10:30 PM - Semi-finals (Men's Freestyle -61-70-86-125Kg)

14th September

2:00 PM - Qualification round (Men's Freestyle -57-74-79-92kg)

8:00 PM - Semi-finals (Men's Freestyle -57-74-79-92kg)

9:30 PM - Finals (Men's Freestyle -61-70-86-125Kg)

15th September

2:00 PM - Qualification round (Men's Freestyle -65-97kg, Women's Freestyle-55-59Kg)

8:00 PM - Semi-finals (Men's Freestyle -65-97kg, Women's Freestyle-55-59Kg)

9:30 PM - Finals (Men's Freestyle -57-74-79-92kg)

16th September

2:00 PM - Qualification round (Women's Freestyle-50-57-65-76kg)

8:00 PM - Semi-finals (Women's Freestyle-50-57-65-76kg)

9:30 PM - Finals (Men's Freestyle -65-97kg, Women's Freestyle-55-59Kg)

17th September

2:00 PM - Qualification round (Women's Freestyle-53-62-68-72Kg)

8:00 PM - Semi-finals (Women's Freestyle-53-62-68-72Kg)

9:30 PM - Finals (Women's Freestyle-50-57-65-76kg)

18th September

2:00 PM - Qualification round (Greco Roman-55-77-82-130kg)

8:00 PM - Semi-finals (Greco Roman-55-77-82-130kg)

9:30 PM - Finals (Women's Freestyle-53-62-68-72Kg)

19th September

2:00 PM - Qualification round (Greco-Roman-60-72-97kg)

8:15 PM - Semi-finals (Greco Roman-60-72-97kg)

9:30 PM - Finals (Greco Roman-55-77-82-130kg)

20th September

2:00 PM - Qualification round (Greco-Roman-63-67-87 kg)

8:15 PM - Semi-finals (Greco Roman-63-67-87kg)

9:30 PM - Finals (Greco Roman-60-72-97kg)

21th September

8:00 PM - Repechages (Greco-Roman-63-67-87 kg)

9:30 PM - Finals (Greco Roman-63-67-87kg)

Where to Watch the World Wrestling Championships?

The 2025 World Wrestling Championships will be live-streamed with a paid subscription on the United World Wrestling's (UWW) official app and website, i.e, UWW+.