Wrestler Kajal wins gold at U17 World Championships

NEW DELHI: Wrestler Kajal secured a gold at the Under-17 World Championship in the 69kg weight category with a decisive 9-2 win over Ukraine's Oleksandra Rybak, continuing India's success in the women's events.
However Shrutika settled for silver in the 46kg category after losing to Japan's Yuu Katsume, who claimed victory in just 40 seconds.
Raj Bala earned a bronze in the 40kg category by defeating Japan's Monaka Umekawa 11-5.Muskan added to India's medal count with a victory over USA's Isabella Gonzales by technical superiority in the 53kg bronze play-off. However, Rajnita fell short in her attempt for a medal, losing the 61kg bronze play-off 'by fall' to Azerbaijan's Hiunai Hurbanova.
The edition saw the Indian women's wrestling team finishing with an impressive haul of eight medals: five gold, one silver, and three bronze.
On Friday, Aditi Kumari (43kg), Neha (57kg), Pulkit (65kg), and Mansi Lather (73kg) all won gold in their respective weight categories.
Katsume got hold of the Indian with a double leg attack at the start. She did not let Shrutika get out of her grip, creating point-scoring moves -- expose and gut-wrench -- one after another to claim the title.
In contrast, the men's freestyle wrestlers did not achieve the same success as their female counterparts. None of the five male grapplers managed to reach the semifinals on Friday, with only Harsh and Vevik winning a round.
Harsh (48kg) started with a confident 6-2 win over Erbol Bolotov but was defeated by Chingis Saryglar in the quarterfinals. In the 55kg category, Jaiveer Singh was eliminated in his first bout, losing on criteria (3-3) to Azatberdi Ashyrgulyev. Ashyrgulyev subsequently lost in the quarterfinals, ending Jaiveer's hopes for a repechage.
In the 65kg category, Sagar lost his qualification bout 5-7 to Bakdaulet Akimzhan and now waits to see if the repechage route will open for him. Vevik experienced a similar fate; after winning his first match 11-4 against Aliaksei Kuryla, he lost his quarterfinal bout by technical superiority to Nikoloz Maisuradze.
This tournament underscored the contrasting fortunes of India's male and female wrestlers, with the women securing notable successes and the men falling short of the semifinals.