Vishvajit Ramchandra More wins India’s first U23 Greco‑Roman silver after 12-13 final loss

Vishvajit Ramchandra More became the first Indian to win a Greco‑Roman silver medal at the U23 World Championships in Las Vegas on Thursday, losing 12-13 to Georgia’s Koba Karumidze in the men’s 55kg final. He had earlier become the first Indian Greco‑Roman wrestler to reach an U23 final.

More, who had previously won two bronze medals at the competition, opened his 55kg campaign with a 10-8 victory over Mexico’s Isaac Marin Mata. He then defeated Iran’s Armin Shamsipour 8-1 in the quarter-finals, the win featuring a four-point throw as Shamsipour appeared to suffer a shoulder injury. In the semi-finals More beat Russia’s Malik Gigiev 7-4 to secure his place in the final.

Karumidze edged ahead in the closing seconds of the gold-medal match to finish 13-12 and claim the title. Karumidze had reached the final after overcoming Kyrgyzstan’s Barsbek Asankozhoev in his semi-final. More therefore settled for silver after a narrow defeat that denied him India’s first U23 Greco‑Roman gold.

In the women’s events, Komal lost her semi-final by technical superiority to Ukraine’s Alina Filipovych. Diksha Malik (68kg) is in the bronze medal race, while Mansi Lather was eliminated after a 9-10 quarter-final loss to Italy’s Laura Godino.

India’s other Greco‑Roman wrestlers failed to reach the medal rounds: Chetan (63kg) lost his pre-quarter-final bout and Karan Kamboj (87kg) suffered a technical superiority defeat in the qualification round. India’s preparations for the championships were also affected by visa rejections, with nine wrestlers from the Greco‑Roman and women’s categories denied visas on the grounds they were under 20 and did not hold full-time jobs.

Komal remains in contention for a bronze after her semi-final defeat to Alina Filipovych, and Diksha Malik (68kg) is also in the bronze medal race.