Vishvajit More becomes first Indian wrestler to win Greco-Roman silver at U23 WC

Indian wrestler Vishvajit Ramchandra More became the first Indian to win a Greco-Roman silver medal at the U-23 World Championships after losing 12-13 to Georgia’s Koba Karumidz in the men’s 55kg final on Thursday. More was within reach of the gold before Karumidze surged forward in the closing seconds.

On Tuesday, he became India’s first-ever Greco-Roman World Under-23 finalist and is the only wrestler in the discipline to win two medals at the competition. He won bronze twice before.

More opened his campaign with a narrow 10-8 win over Mexico’s Isaac Marin Mata before facing Iran’s Armin Shamsipour, the reigning U20 world champion, in the quarter-finals. The four-point haul helped India secure an 8-1 victory, with Shamsipour appearing to suffer a shoulder injury during the match.

In the semi-finals, More defeated Russia’s Malik Gigiev 6-4 in another very close match. Both wrestlers benefited from challenges during the match, but More held on to book his spot in the finals.

The Indian had a chance to become India’s first Greco-Roman gold medalist at the Under-23 World Championship. However, Karumidze denied him the opportunity after defeating Kyrgyzstan’s Barsbek Asankozhoev in a hard-fought semi-final to set up a title fight.

INDIAN CAMPAIGN HAS BEEN HARD BY VISA REFUSAL

India’s preparations for the 2026 Under-23 World Cup in Las Vegas have also been affected by visa rejection. Nine Greco-Roman and women’s wrestlers were denied visas on the grounds that they were under the age of 20 and did not hold permanent employment.

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