World Wrestling Championships Day 7: Suraj Vashishth impresses on debut, reaches 60kg quarterfinals

Young Indian wrestler Suraj Vashishth put on a fighting display in his senior World Wrestling Championships debut in Zagreb, advancing to the quarterfinals in the men’s 60-kg Greco-Roman category before bowing out on Friday. The 19-year-old from Rohtak, Haryana, registered two back-to-back wins to give India some positives on Day 7 of the competition.

Suraj started his campaign with a 3-1 win against Angel Tellez and followed it up with another 3-1 victory over Moldova’s Victor Ciobanu in the pre-quarterfinals. His impressive run ended in the quarterfinals, where he went down 1-4 to Serbia’s Georgij Tibilov.

Despite the loss, Suraj’s performance stood out as he became one of the few Indians to register multiple wins in the Greco-Roman events this week.

Mixed Results for other Indian wrestlers in Greco-Roman category at World Wrestling Championships

In the 97-kg category, Nitesh made a winning start by beating Croatia’s Filip Smetko 3-2 in a close qualification bout. However, he lost 0-4 to World No. 1 Mohammadhadi Saravi of Iran in the pre-quarterfinals. With Saravi advancing to the final, Nitesh has earned a place in the repechage round, keeping India’s hopes of a podium finish alive in this weight class.

Competing in the 72-kg category, Ankit Gulia suffered a 0-9 defeat by technical superiority to Korea’s Yeonghun Noh in his opening bout. Noh’s loss in the quarterfinals meant Ankit’s campaign ended without a repechage opportunity.

In the 77-kg category, Aman entered the repechage round but faced a strong challenge from Ukraine’s Ihor Bychkov, losing 0-10 by technical superiority and exiting the tournament.

India’s only medal at this year’s championships so far came through Antim Panghal, who clinched a bronze in the women’s 53-kg freestyle category on Thursday, opening the country’s account in the event.

Day 7 saw mixed results for the Indian contingent, with Suraj’s quarterfinal appearance and Nitesh’s repechage progression being the highlights in Greco-Roman wrestling.

Edited by Parag Jain