India’s wait for a gold medal at the Under-23 World Wrestling Championships continued on Saturday as Hansika Lamba and Sarika Malik settled for silver medals in Belgrade, Serbia. Despite their spirited performances, both wrestlers fell to Japanese opponents in their respective finals, marking a strong but bittersweet conclusion to India’s women’s campaign.
Hansika, competing in the 53kg category, was up against Japan’s Haruna Morikawa in the title bout. The contest began cautiously, with Hansika struggling to find her rhythm against Morikawa’s sharp technique. The Japanese grappler took control early, earning points through a clean takedown before forcing Hansika onto the clock for passivity. Trailing 0-3 at the break, Hansika was left chasing the contest, but Morikawa’s defensive strength and tactical precision denied her any openings. A late push-out point sealed the 4-0 win for Morikawa, leaving Hansika to settle for silver.
In the 59kg final, Sarika Malik — last year’s Asian U-20 silver medallist — faced another tough Japanese opponent in Ruka Natami, the 2024 U-23 World silver medallist. Sarika made a confident start, drawing first blood as Natami was penalized for passivity in a quiet opening period. However, Natami turned the tide in the second half, using her agility and timing to score a two-pointer near the edge of the circle. Despite Sarika’s powerful attempts to push her opponent out of bounds, Natami held her ground to secure a narrow 2-1 victory.
The two silvers capped off a commendable outing for India’s women wrestlers, who finished with a total of seven medals — two silver and five bronze. Earlier in the week, Nishu (55kg), Neha Sharma (57kg), Pulkit (65kg), Srishti (68kg), and Priya Malik (76kg) had all claimed bronze medals, showcasing India’s growing depth and consistency in the women’s field.
Among the wrestlers who couldn’t make it to the podium were Savita (62kg), Hanny Kumari (50kg), and Diksha Malik (72kg), who exited earlier in the competition.
In the men’s freestyle category, India’s run was less successful. Pravinder (74kg) lost his bronze medal bout 2-8 to Japan’s Yoshinosuke Aoyagi, while Sumit Malik (57kg), Naveen Kumar (70kg), and Chander Mohan (79kg) were eliminated during the early rounds. Sachin (92kg) had bowed out on Friday.
Attention now turns to Sujeet Kalkal (65kg), who remains India’s strongest gold medal contender in the men’s section. India did not field any wrestler in the 125kg category after eligible athletes failed to attend the national camp and were disqualified from trials.
