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Updated August 22nd, 2022 at 12:09 IST

U20 World Wrestling Championships: India ends campaign on a high, records best-ever finish

Team India concluded their campaign at the U-20 World Wrestling Championships on Sunday with their best-ever performance, after winning a total of 16 medals.

U20 World Wrestling Championships
Image: @Media_SAI/Twitter | Image:self
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India concluded their campaign at the U-20 World Wrestling Championships 2022 in Sofia, Bulgaria on Sunday with the best ever performance for the team. Team India earned a total of 16 medals across different categories at the coveted sporting event, which included a gold medal, four silver medals, and 11 bronze medals. Earlier on Friday, 17-year-old wrestler, Antim Panghal scripted history by clinching the prestigious gold medal in the women’s 53kg category.

Antim Panghal- 1st Indian woman to win gold at U-20 World Wrestling Championships

Courtesy of her feat, the reigning junior Asian champion Panghal became the first ever Indian woman to earn a gold medal finish in the U20 world wrestling championships. Fighting for the gold against U20 Asian Championships bronze medal winner Altyn Shagayeva of Kazakhstan, Panghal pulled off a stellar win by the margin of 8-0. Alongside Panghal, Tokyo Olympian Sonam malik won the silver medal in the women’s 62kg final, while the reigning junior Asian champion Priyanka won silver in the women’s 65kg category on Friday.

A closer look at Team India's medal tally

Meanwhile, as reported by the Sports Authority of India (SAI), Team India won one gold medal, three silver medals, and three bronze medals in the Women’s Wrestling event. In Men’s Freestyle, India returned with one silver medal and six bronze medals. At the same time, India also won two bronze medals in the Men’s Greco-Roman event. 

Alongside Sonam and Priyanka, 2022 Cadet World Championships gold medallist Priya Mallik won the silver medal in the 76kg category. The list of silver medal winners also consists of Mahendra Gaikwad, who finished 2nd in the Men’s 125kg Free Style event. Meanwhile, Priyanshi, Sito, Reetika, Abhishek Dhaka, Mohit Kumar, Sujeet, Mulayam Yadav, Sagar Jahan, Neeraj Bharadwaj, Sumit and Rohit Dahiya were the bronze medal winners for India. 

India earns podium finish at U-20 World Wrestling Championships

It is pertinent to mention that India finished 2nd in the overall women’s team ranking while finishing 3rd in the Men’s Freestyle Team event. India’s stellar performance while competing against top wrestling countries like the USA, Iran, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Ukraine, and Japan is certainly commendable. India’s previous best performance at the U20 World Wrestling Championship came in 2011 when India won two gold and one bronze medal.

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Published August 22nd, 2022 at 11:06 IST

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