Under-23 National Wrestling Championship kicks off in Ranchi; Haryana dominate opening day

Ranchi, Aug 22 (IANS) The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) has begun hosting the 2025 Under-23 National Wrestling Championship in Free Style, Greco-Roman Style, and Women’s Wrestling at Ranchi, Jharkhand from August 22 to 24. The event has drawn around 600 wrestlers, 100 coaches, and 50 technical officials from across the country, making it one of the biggest platforms to showcase the depth of young wrestling talent in India.

The tournament was formally inaugurated by the Hon’ble Sports Minister, Shri Sudivya Kumar Sonu, in the presence of dignitaries, federation officials, coaches, and a large number of wrestling enthusiasts.

The competition opened with the Free Style Wrestling events, producing high-quality bouts across all categories. The day saw several standout performances, particularly from wrestlers representing Haryana, Delhi, and Services (SSCB).

In the 57kg category, Sagar (SSCB) clinched gold, defeating Ankush (Delhi), while Abhishek Yadav (MP) and Himanshu Pawar (UP) settled for bronze. Delhi struck back in the 61kg category, where Nikhil won gold over Deepak (Haryana), with Shubham (SSCB) and Anuj Vishnoi (Rajasthan) taking bronze.

The 65kg final was dominated by Mohit Kumar (SSCB), who overpowered P. Nikhil Yadav (Telangana). Bronze medals went to Abishek Dhaka (UP) and Manish (Maharashtra). In the 70kg class, Naveen (HP) grabbed gold, while Sandeep (Haryana) won silver and Suraj (Punjab) and Ashwani Yadav (UP) bagged bronzes.

Haryana’s depth shone through in the 74kg and 79kg divisions. Parvinder (Haryana) won gold at 74kg ahead of Sourabh Sehrawat (Delhi), while Ravi Yadav (UP) and Adarsh (Maharashtra) took bronze. At 79kg, Chandermohan (SSCB) topped the podium, but Haryana’s Deepak secured silver, with Saurabh Yadav (UP) and Ritik Rana (Delhi) taking third place.

In the 86kg weight class, Haryana’s Sagar Jaglan emerged victorious, defeating Ashish (Delhi) in the final. Arjun (Maharashtra) and Deepak (SSCB) shared bronze. The 92kg category was won by Punit Kumar (Haryana), with Tanuj Antil (Chandigarh) second, and Shreyash (Maharashtra) and Anuj Gautam (UP) picking up bronzes.

The 97kg gold went to Shanveer Singh (Punjab), who defeated Bapusaheb (Karnataka). The bronze medals were won by Ramesh Kumar (HP) and Pratik (Maharashtra). In the super-heavyweight 125kg division, Ronak (Delhi) took gold, beating Rohan (Maharashtra), while Aman Rathee (Haryana) and Shbaaz Grewal (Punjab) claimed bronze.

In the team championships, Haryana topped the table with 162 points, Delhi finished second with 145 points, and SSCB stood third with 123 points, reflecting the strong dominance of these states in freestyle wrestling.

The competition in women’s wrestling will commence tomorrow across all weight categories, promising another action-packed day at the Ranchi championship.

--IANS

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