CHENNAI: Mohit Kumar on Wednesday became the first Indian male wrestler to win the U-20 World Championships title since 2019 when Deepak Punia won the 86kg crown.
Meanwhile, talented Priya Malik also reached the finals in the 76kg on Wednesday in the tournament going on in Amman City, Jordan. If she wins the final on Thursday, she will be the country’s only second woman wrestler to clinch the junior title after Antim Panghal, who pocketed the 53kg gold last year.
Mohit was trailing 0-6 in the 61kg final but his Russian opponent Eldar Akhmadudinov, who is competing as an individual athlete, looked exhausted as the Indian wrestler garnered nine points to win 9-8. Jaideep also won the 74kg bronze with a win over Kyrgyszstan’s Zhakshylyk Ruslanovich Baitashov.
Earlier, Priya stormed into the final with a 10-0 win by technical superiority over her USA rival Kennedy Alexis Blades. She will take on Laura Celine Kuehn of Germany in the summit clash. The wrestler from Nidani village of Jind district (Haryana) had pocketed a silver medal each at the U-20 World and Asian Championships last year.
