U23 World Wrestling Championships: Indian wrestler Vishvajit Ramchandra More clinched India's first-ever silver medal in Greco Roman category at the U23 World Championships here on Thursday.
A two-time bronze medallist at the U23 world level went down 12-13 to Georgia's Koba Karumidze in the final seconds of the men’s 55kg Greco-Roman final.
More, who was India's only Greco-Roman wrestler to win two medals at the U23 World Championships, became India's first-ever Greco-Roman finalist at the U23 Worlds on Tuesday.
He put on a stunning performance with three close wins. He opened his campaign with a 10-8 win over Isaac Marin Mata of Mexico to set up a quarterfinal against U20 world champion Armin Shamsipour of Iran. He used a four-pointer throw against Shamsipour, who seemed to have injured his shoulder, for an 8-1 win.
The semifinal against Malik Gigiev of Russia was equally thrilling, with challenges helping both the wrestlers as More walked away with a 6-4 win.
More entered the final with an aim to become the first Indian wrestler to win gold medal in Greco-Roman at the U23 Worlds, but he fell short of it against the Georgian, who also had a thrilling semifinal against Kyrgyzstan's Barsbek Asankozhoev to make it to the final.
However, India's campaign had been hit with an administrative hurdle earlier as nine U23 wrestlers (across greco-roman and women's wrestling categories) were denied visas for the U23 World Wrestling Championships 2026 in Las Vegas for being under-20 and having no full-time jobs.
More entered the final with an aim to become the first Indian wrestler to win gold medal in Greco-Roman at the U23 Worlds, but he fell short of it against the Georgian, who also had a thrilling semifinal against Kyrgyzstan's Barsbek Asankozhoev to make it to the final.
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Article Source: IANS