Vishvajit More Scripts History, Becomes First Indian to Win Greco-Roman Silver at U23 World Championships

Vishvajit More Makes History with Silver at U23 World Wrestling Championships

Indian wrestler Vishvajit Ramchandra More created history on Thursday by becoming the country’s first Greco-Roman silver medallist at the U23 World Wrestling Championships. More narrowly missed out on gold after suffering a thrilling 12-13 defeat against Georgia’s Koba Karumidze in the men’s 55kg final.

The Indian wrestler came close to securing the title, but Karumidze managed to take the lead in the closing seconds to emerge victorious. Despite the defeat, More achieved a significant milestone by becoming the first Indian Greco-Roman wrestler to reach the final of the U23 World Championships.

More entered the competition with strong credentials, having secured bronze medals at the previous editions. He opened his campaign with a hard-fought 10-8 victory over Mexico’s Isaac Marin Mata before producing an impressive performance against Iran’s Armin Shamsipour in the quarter-finals.

More defeated Shamsipour, the reigning U20 world champion, 8-1 to advance to the semi-finals. A four-point throw proved decisive in the contest, during which the Iranian wrestler appeared to sustain a shoulder injury.

The Indian continued his impressive run in the semi-finals, overcoming Russia’s Malik Gigiev 7-4 in another closely contested bout to secure his place in the gold medal match. Karumidze booked his spot in the final after defeating Kyrgyzstan’s Barsbek Asankozhoev in his semi-final.

Although More missed the opportunity to become India’s first Greco-Roman gold medallist at the U23 World Championships, his silver medal marked a landmark achievement for Indian wrestling and added to his two previous bronze medals at the competition.

Indian Wrestlers Remain in Bronze Medal Contention

In the women’s competition, Komal remains in contention for a bronze medal after losing her semi-final bout to Ukraine’s Alina Filipovych by technical superiority.

Diksha Malik, competing in the 68kg category, is also in the bronze medal race. However, Mansi Lather’s campaign ended in the quarter-finals after she suffered a narrow 9-10 defeat against Italy’s Laura Godino.

India’s other Greco-Roman wrestlers were unable to progress to the medal rounds. Chetan, competing in the 63kg category, lost in the pre-quarter-finals, while Karan Kamboj suffered a technical superiority defeat in the qualification round of the 87kg category.

Visa Rejections Disrupt India’s World Championship Campaign

India’s campaign at the 2026 U23 World Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas was also affected by visa-related setbacks. Nine wrestlers from the Greco-Roman and women’s categories were denied visas, disrupting their participation in the competition.

The stated reasons for the visa rejections included the applicants being under 20 years of age and not having full-time employment. The setback reduced India’s representation at the championships, even as More’s historic silver medal provided a major boost to the country’s Greco-Roman wrestling campaign.