Slovakia, August 21, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Kajal Dhochak continued her remarkable rise in international wrestling by winning a second successive U20 World Championship gold medal, leading India’s medal haul with a dominant victory in the women’s 76kg category in Slovakia on Thursday.
The 18-year-old Indian defeated China’s Jingru Sun 7-0 in the final to claim the world title. The victory followed her U20 World Championship triumph at 72kg in 2025 and made her only the second Indian wrestler to win two gold medals at this level.
Kajal had also won the U17 World Championship title in 2024 at 69kg. She moved up to 76kg this year after winning the U20 world title at 72kg last year.
The Indian wrestler completed her campaign without conceding a single point. She began with a victory by fall over Japan’s Miyu Takayama, followed it with a 14-0 win against Turkiye’s Elmira Yasin and defeated USA’s Piper Fowler 6-0 in the semifinals.
The final was a rematch of Kajal’s opening-round encounter with Sun at the U20 Asian Championships, where the Indian had also prevailed.
Kajal took a 1-0 lead through a stepout before executing a double-leg takedown to make it 3-0 at the interval. Sun was later cautioned for open hands, adding another point to Kajal’s tally. The Indian then pushed her opponent out and secured another takedown to complete the 7-0 victory.
The gold was Kajal’s fifth consecutive title of 2026. After seventh-place finishes at the Tirana Ranking Series and Asian Championships earlier in the year, she went on to win gold at the U23 Asian Championships, Ulaanbaatar Ranking Series, U20 Asian Championships, Budapest Ranking Series and now the U20 World Championships.
India also secured two silver medals on the day.
In the 72kg final, Tanu Sharma put up a closely fought challenge against Japan’s Chisato Yoshida but lost 3-5 on points to finish with silver.
Savita claimed another silver in the 62kg category after Japan’s Sakura Onishi defeated her 12-2 by technical superiority in the final.
With the championships entering their final phase, India remain in contention for more medals. Indian wrestlers will compete in the remaining women’s 57kg, 59kg and 68kg categories, besides the men’s freestyle 61kg and 86kg divisions.
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