World Wrestling Championship: Opening day sees Indian wrestlers fail to advance

Indian wrestlers failed to cross the initial hurdle on Saturday's opening day of the World Wrestling Championships. Four Indian Greco-Roman wrestlers, including former Asian champion Sunil Kumar, lost in their respective opening rounds of the World Wrestling Championships 2022 in Belgrade, Serbia on Saturday.

Competing in the 87kg weight division, Sunil Kumar faced former under-23 European silver medalist Ali Cengiz of Turkey in the qualifying round. However, after the bout ended with a 1-1 tie, the Turkish wrestler was awarded the win as he scored the last point.

The other three Indian Greco-Roman wrestlers competing on the day also faltered in their respective divisions. Asian Championships bronze medalist Arjun Halakurki, competing in the 55kg, was leading the two-time Pan-American champion Max Emiliano Nowry of the USA 3-0 at the end of the first round. However, Max Emiliano Nowry inflicted a fall on the Indian wrestler to make it to the quarter-finals.

Vikas, a 2017 Commonwealth wrestling championships silver medalist, suffered a narrow 2-1 loss to former European champion Shmagi Bolkvadze in the qualifying round of the men's 72kg.

In the men's 77kg, Sachin lost 8-0 to former world championships silver medalist Aram Vardanyan of Uzbekistan in the first round.

India's Asian championships silver-medal winning Greco-Roman wrestler Harpreet Singh (82kg) along with Neeraj (63kg), Ashu (67kg), and Deepanshu (97kg) will be in action on Sunday.

Thirty Indian wrestlers are competing at the World Wrestling Championships 2022 in Belgrade, Serbia from September 10 to September 18.

Olympic medalists Bajrang Punia and Ravi Kumar Dahiya are chasing their first world titles as is the three-time CWG gold-medalist Vinesh Phogat.

World championships silver-medalists Deepak Punia and Anshu Malik pulled out of the event after sustaining elbow injuries.

The Indian wrestling contingent is looking to go better than its two-medal haul at the 2021 world championships. Here are the results at a glance.

Greco-Roman: Arjun Halakurki (55kg), Round of 16: Lost 5-3 vs Max Nowry (USA)

Vikas (72kg), Qualifying: Lost 2-1 vs Shmagi Bolkvadze (GEO)

Sachin (77kg), Round of 32: Lost 8-0 vs Aram Vardanyan (UZB)

Sunil Kumar (87kg), Qualifying: Lost 1-1 (VPO1) to Ali Cengiz (TUR)

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