World Wrestling C'ships: India’s Greco-Roman hopes end

India’s Greco-Roman wrestling team had a disappointing day at the World Wrestling Championships on Saturday, with all three male wrestlers exiting early and missing any chance for repechage, as their respective opponents also failed to advance to the finals.

In the 63kg category, Sunny Kumar lost 1-3 in the qualification round to Iran’s Aref Hosseinkhoun Mohammadi, who himself was eliminated before the semifinals, denying Kumar a repechage opportunity.

In the 67kg category round of 32, Anil suffered a 0-7 defeat to Qatar’s Gagik M Snjoyan , who also could not progress further.

Karan Kamboj (87kg) was beaten 0-8 by American Payton Jacobson in the qualification round, and with Jacobson failing to reach the finals, Kamboj’s chance for a second opportunity was gone.

In the 97kg category, Nitesh fought in the repechage round but lost a close contest 4-5 to Georgia’s Giorgi Melia, ending his campaign.

Earlier, Suraj Vashishth (60kg) had shown promise by reaching the quarterfinals, but the rest of India’s male wrestlers could not capitalize on their matches.

The lone bright spot for India came from Antim Panghal, who secured a hard-earned bronze in the women’s 53kg category, providing the country’s only medal at the championships this year.

This early exit underlines the challenges India’s Greco-Roman wrestlers continue to face on the world stage, highlighting the gap that still exists between them and the top-tier international competition.