Vishvajit More won silver in the men’s 55kg Greco-Roman event at the U23 World Championships in Las Vegas, losing the final 12-13 to Georgia’s Koba Karumidze in the closing seconds. He became the first Indian Greco-Roman wrestler to reach a final at the event.
Las Vegas, United States: One point. That was the distance between Vishvajit Ramchandra More and a world title.
A run through the draw
More opened with a 10-8 win over Mexico’s Isaac Marin Mata. In the quarter-final he faced Iran’s Armin Shamsipour, the U20 world champion, and beat him 8-1 with a four-point throw. Shamsipour appeared to injure his shoulder in the bout. More then won a tight semi-final against Malik Gigiev, 6-4, to book his place in the final.
Twelve-thirteen in the final seconds
The final against Karumidze went to the wire. The Georgian had also come through a close semi-final, against Kyrgyzstan’s Barsbek Asankozhoev. More lost 12-13, with the bout decided in the final seconds. He had set out to become India’s first Greco-Roman U23 world champion.
The silver is a step up from his previous results at this level. More is a two-time U23 world bronze medallist, and reaching this final made him the first Indian Greco-Roman wrestler to do so.
A team weakened before it started
The medal arrived against a difficult backdrop. Nine Indian wrestlers in the Greco-Roman and women’s categories were reportedly denied US visas, with the reasons reported as their being under 20 and not holding full-time jobs. Wrestling Federation of India president Sanjay Singh blamed the US Embassy and said India had lost likely gold medals as a result.
The championships run until October 18, leaving more events to be decided in Greco-Roman, women’s and freestyle categories.
Result: Silver, men’s 55kg Greco-Roman, U23 World Wrestling Championships, Las Vegas. Final: Koba Karumidze (Georgia) 13, Vishvajit More (India) 12.
Route to the final: beat Isaac Marin Mata (Mexico) 10-8, Armin Shamsipour (Iran) 8-1, Malik Gigiev 6-4.
