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

Vishvajit Ramchandra More became the first Indian to win Greco-Roman silver at the U23 World Wrestling Championships after losing 12-13 to Georgia's Koba Karumidze in the men's 55kg final on Thursday.Vishvajit More becomes first Indian to win Greco-Roman silver at U23 Worlds (Instagram: wrestler__vishvajit___more Photo)New Delhi,Oct 15, 2026 14:15 ISTIndian wrestler Vishvajit Ramchandra More became the country's first Greco-Roman silver medallist at the U23 World Championships after losing 12-13 to Georgia's Koba Karumidze in the men's 55kg final on Thursday.More was close to winning gold but Karumidze edged ahead in the closing seconds to clinch the title. The Indian had already made history by becoming the first Indian Greco-Roman wrestler to reach the final at the U23 World Championships.More, who had won bronze at the previous editions, began his campaign with a narrow 10-8 win over Mexico's Isaac Marin Mata. He then defeated Iran's Armin Shamsipour, the reigning U20 world champion, 8-1 in the quarter-finals. A four-point throw helped More secure the win, with Shamsipour appearing to suffer a shoulder injury during the bout.In the semi-finals, More beat Russia's Malik Gigiev 7-4 in another closely fought contest to book his place in the final. Karumidze, meanwhile, set up the title clash after overcoming Kyrgyzstan's Barsbek Asankozhoev in his semi-final. More had the chance to become India's first Greco-Roman gold medallist at the U23 World Championships but had to settle for silver after the narrow defeat. The result added to his two bronze medals at the competition.INDIANS REMAIN IN BRONZE MEDAL CONTENTIONIn the women's event, Komal remains in contention for bronze after losing her semi-final by technical superiority to Ukraine's Alina Filipovych. Diksha Malik (68kg) is also in the bronze medal race, while Mansi Lather bowed out after losing her quarter-final 9-10 to Italy's Laura Godino.India's other Greco-Roman wrestlers failed to reach the medal rounds. Chetan (63kg) lost his pre-quarter-final bout, while Karan Kamboj (87kg) suffered a technical superiority defeat in the qualification round.VISA REJECTIONS HIT INDIA'S CAMPAIGNIndia's preparations for the 2026 U23 World Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas were also affected by visa rejections. Nine wrestlers from the Greco-Roman and women's categories were denied visas, with the stated reasons being that they were under 20 and did not hold full-time jobs.- Ends