India’s young wrestler Aman Sehrawat has done something which has never happened in history. Sehrawat has won the gold medal for India in the World U23 Wrestling Championships. He has become the first Indian wrestler to do so only at the age of 18.
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In the final, Aman won 12–4 against Turkish wrestler Ahmet Duman in the 57kg category. He did not start well in the final, but he made a good comeback. He was behind by two points in the first period. Then in the second period, he wrestled brilliantly and finished the task of collecting 12 points.
Earlier, Aman had defeated Kyrgyzstan’s Bekzat Almaz Uulu 10-5 in the semi-finals before making it to the final. In the quarterfinals, Japan’s wrestler Japan’s Toshiya Abe was in front of him. Toshiya was defeated by Aman 13-2. In the meantime, in the round of 16, Aman faced Sri Lanka’s Hansana Ganegodage. Aman won this match by 11-0. This gold medal is also important because no Indian railroad had done this feat till date. Olympic medalists Bajrang Punia and Ravi Kumar Dahiya had made the final in their categories in previous editions but could only win the silver medal.
Hailing from Birohar village of Jhajjar district of Haryana, Aman has been training at Chhatrasal Stadium in Delhi for the last several years. And has won many medals for India at the youth level. Aman also won a gold medal in the Bolat Turlykhanov Cup in June. Bajrang Punia won the bronze medal in that tournament. Aman’s father Somveer had got him admitted to Chhatrasal Stadium. Somveer died due to a prolonged illness when he was 13 years old. A few years before that, his mother Kamlesh had passed away.
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However, India won a total of six medals in this tournament. Only nine wrestlers from India participated in this tournament. India had selected a total of 30 wrestlers to participate, but due to visa problems, the rest of the wrestlers could not go to Spain.
World U23 Wrestling Championships Medal Winners:
| Number | Name | Medal | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sajan Bhanwala | Bronze | Greco Roman 77kg |
| 2 | Vikas | Bronze | Greco Roman 72kg |
| 3 | Nitesh | Bronze | Greco Roman 97kg |
| 4 | Ankush | Silver | Women’s 50kg |
| 5 | Mansi Ahlawat | Bronze | Women’s 59kg |
| 6 | Aman Sehrawat | Gold | Men’s 57kg |
