Las Vegas, October 15, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Indian wrestler Vishvajit Ramchandra More created history by winning India’s first-ever silver medal in Greco-Roman wrestling at the U23 World Championships, narrowly losing the men’s 55kg final to Georgia’s Koba Karumidze in Las Vegas on Thursday.
More went down 12-13 after a dramatic final in which the Georgian secured victory in the closing seconds, denying the Indian wrestler a historic gold medal.
A two-time bronze medallist at the U23 World Championships, More had already made history by becoming India’s first-ever Greco-Roman finalist at the competition on Tuesday. He was also the country’s only Greco-Roman wrestler to have won two medals at the U23 World Championships before this edition.
More began his campaign with a hard-fought 10-8 victory over Mexico’s Isaac Marin Mata, setting up a quarter-final clash with Iran’s U20 world champion Armin Shamsipour.
The Indian delivered a commanding performance in the quarter-final, executing a four-point throw to secure an 8-1 win. Shamsipour appeared to have sustained a shoulder injury during the contest.
In the semi-final, More faced Russia’s Malik Gigiev in another closely contested bout. With both wrestlers challenging the action, More held his nerve to emerge victorious 6-4 and book his place in the final.
More entered the gold-medal bout hoping to become India’s first Greco-Roman wrestling champion at the U23 World Championships. However, Karumidze prevailed by the narrowest of margins after a tense finish. The Georgian had also come through a competitive semi-final against Kyrgyzstan’s Barsbek Asankozhoev.
India’s campaign in Las Vegas was also affected by visa-related difficulties. Nine Indian wrestlers across the Greco-Roman and women’s categories were reportedly denied visas for the 2026 championships on the grounds that they were under 20 and did not have full-time employment.
Wrestling Federation of India president Sanjay Singh criticised the visa refusals, claiming they had cost India potential medals.
“The US Embassy rejected the visas of nine Indian wrestlers on the grounds that they are unemployed. For the first time in history this has happened. Even the UWW president wrote to them regarding the matter,” Singh told IANS on Wednesday.
He alleged that at least two of the wrestlers denied visas had strong chances of winning gold medals.
FOLLOW NOW
