India’s young wrestling stars Kajal Dhochak and Neelam Sirohi delivered impressive performances to secure places in the women’s 76kg and 50kg finals, respectively, at the World Wrestling Championships on Tuesday, guaranteeing the country at least two medals.
While two-time U20 world champion Kajal produced a remarkable comeback victory in the 76kg semifinal, Neelam showcased her composure and attacking prowess to overcome home favourite Zeinep Bayanova in the 50kg category. Both Indian wrestlers will now be aiming to turn their impressive campaigns into gold medals.
Kajal stole the spotlight with a sensational 10-7 victory over Kyrgyzstan’s Aiperi Medet Kyzy, last edition’s silver medallist, in the women’s 76kg semifinal.
The 18-year-old Indian found herself trailing 1-7 against a formidable opponent but refused to give up. She mounted a spirited comeback, overturned the deficit and sealed a memorable victory to book her place in the championship final.
Kajal will now face Ukraine’s Anastasiya Alpyeyeva, a two-time European champion, in the gold-medal bout. The Indian will look to carry her outstanding momentum into the final as she targets another major international title.
Her route to the semifinal was equally impressive. Kajal began her campaign with a victory by fall against Lithuania’s Kamile Griskiene Gaucaite before registering a commanding 9-2 win over Mongolia’s Davaanasan Enkh Amar in the quarterfinals.
The young wrestler has thus demonstrated both her technical ability and mental resilience, overcoming increasingly difficult challenges to reach the biggest stage of the competition.
Neelam Sirohi also produced a strong performance in the women’s 50kg category, defeating Kazakhstan’s Zeinep Bayanova 7-3 in the semifinal to secure her place in the final.
With the victory, Neelam has earned a shot at the world title, but she faces a formidable challenge in Japan’s Yui Susaki, one of the most accomplished wrestlers in the sport.
Neelam’s campaign has been marked by effective attacking moves and disciplined defensive wrestling. She began her knockout-stage journey with a dominant 6-0 victory over Belarus’ Natallia Varakina in the pre-quarterfinals.
She subsequently advanced to the semifinals after top seed Elizaveta Smirnova of Russia withdrew from their quarterfinal bout because of an injury.
Against Varakina, Neelam remained composed when her opponent attempted to put her under pressure, combining quick attacks with solid defence to maintain control of the contest.
Her semifinal victory over Bayanova has now put her one win away from a world championship title. The final against Susaki will be a major test, with the Indian wrestler hoping to produce another standout performance on Sunday.
Rajnita made her presence felt in the women’s 65kg category by registering an impressive 8-6 victory over Kateryna Zelenykh, the 2024 World Championships silver medallist, in the qualification round.
However, her campaign suffered a setback in the pre-quarterfinals, where she lost to Moldova’s Irina Ringaci by technical superiority.
Rajnita’s medal hopes remain alive, though, as Ringaci’s progress to the final gives the Indian another opportunity to compete through the repechage. She will now aim to make the most of that chance and fight her way into the bronze-medal contest.
Her victory over Zelenykh was one of the notable results for India on the day, underlining her ability to challenge established international competitors.
In the women’s 57kg category, Neha Sharma opened her campaign with a hard-fought 4-2 win over Algeria’s Achouak Djamila Tekouk to advance to the pre-quarterfinals.
However, she could not maintain her winning run in the next round, losing 1-4 to Belarus’ Iryna Kurachkina to bring her campaign to an end.
India’s Greco-Roman wrestlers endured a disappointing outing, with Lalit in the 55kg category the only Indian to reach the medal round.
The remaining competitors failed to make a significant impact, leaving the women’s freestyle wrestlers to provide the major positives for the Indian contingent on Tuesday.
With Kajal Dhochak and Neelam Sirohi now through to their respective finals and Rajnita still in contention for bronze, India will have multiple opportunities to add to its medal tally.
The spotlight, however, will firmly be on the two young finalists, who will look to cap their impressive campaigns with world championship gold on Sunday.