CHENNAI: India had a forgettable outing on Day 1 of the U20 World Championships in Bratislava, Slovakia as none of their Greco-Roman wrestlers made it to the medal round on Sunday.
The country's wrestlers competed in four weight categories but only Dheeraj Kumar could make it to the quarterfinal in the 77kg weight category. Despite losing the contest, the Indian wrestler still had a chance to make it to the bronze medal playoff via repechage but that hope faded once his opponent in the quarterfinal, Giorgi Gogelashvili of Georgia, lost the semifinal bout.
Earlier, Dheeraj defeated Zalan Pek of Serbia by fall in the qualification round to advance to pre-quarterfinals. He defeated Bulgaria's Hristo B Valentinov 6-3 in the next bout to make it to the last eight.
In the 63kg weight category, Aditya Shivaji Tate won the qualification bout 5-3 against Maksut Sultanov of Ukraine but went down to 2-9 against Sirozhidin M Normatov of Kyrgyzstan. Later in the day, his Kyrgyzstan opponent too lost the quarterfinal bout ending Tate's hopes.
Akhil also met the same fate in the 87kg weight category. Despite trailing 4-6, the Indian wrestler pinned Orkhan F Hajiyev of Azerbaijan to enter the next round. Josef Cerny of Czechia defeated Akhil 0-8 before going down in the quarterfinals. Piyush Kumar lost the 1/8 final 1-7 against Saba Purtseladze of Georgia. The Georgian wrestler went on to lose the last eight clash bringing the Indian's campaign to an end.
Notably, Indian wrestlers faced visa issues ahead of the Slovakia trip. The Slovakia Embassy in New Delhi apparently delayed visa appointment to the Indian contingent due to alleged human trafficking. As first reported by TNIE, the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) then involved ministries of external affairs and sport along with the world governing body, United World Wrestling, to get the issue resolved.
Meanwhile, Greco-Roman wrestlers of 55kg, 67kg, 72kg and 97kg will be in action on Monday. The women wrestling competition will begin on Tuesday with bouts in the 50kg, 53kg and 72kg weight categories.
