World Wrestling Championships 2025 Day 1: High schooler 18-year-old Jax Forrest and Zahid Valencia make it to the semifinal

The opening day of the World Wrestling Championships 2025 saw several US wrestlers in action in the 61kg, 70 kg, 86kg, and 125kg categories. One of the most promising performances from the event came from the side of 18-year-old Jax Forrest in the 61kg bracket.

2025 Pan American Championships gold medalist in the bracket, Forrest, defeated Taiyrbek Zhumashbek in the quarters by a margin of 13-7 to advance to the next round. Competing in the 70kg bracket, PJ Duke faced a disappointing defeat in his Round of 16 match against Nurkozha Kaipanov.

However, Duke will be competing in the repechage rounds of the bracket, where he will be looking to keep his medal hope alive at the 2025 World Wrestling Championships.

2023 World Championships bronze medalist, Zahid Valencia, has also qualified for the semis in the 86kg bracket. He defeated Ivars Samusonok in his quarterfinal match by a margin of 10-0. Wyatt Hendrickson was eliminated from his opening round in the tournament after a 4-14 defeat to Abduall Kurbanov.

Notably, the semifinals of all the above brackets will also be taking place later on the opening day of the World Wrestling Championships 2025, where Forrest and Valencia will be seen in action.

Edited by Soumik Bhattacharya