Rising star Suraj battles tough field in senior debut

India’s young wrestling hope Suraj Vashishth may have fallen short in the quarterfinals of his senior World Championship debut, but the 19-year-old left a lasting impression with his spirited performances in the Greco-Roman 60kg category on Friday. His two confident wins before bowing out suggested that Indian wrestling has a promising future talent on its hands.

At a time when many of India’s Greco-Roman wrestlers have struggled to find momentum at the senior level, Suraj stood out. The U20 World Championships bronze medallist and reigning U20 Asian champion began his campaign with a solid 3-1 victory over Angel Tellez, followed by another composed 3-1 win against Moldova’s Victor Ciobanu. His run ended in the quarterfinals with a 1-4 defeat to Serbia’s Georgij Tibilov, but the youngster’s fighting spirit was evident throughout.

Suraj, who hails from Rohtak, had already made headlines earlier this year by winning India’s first U20 Asian gold medal in six years at Bishkek. He has also shown glimpses of his potential on the senior circuit, collecting a silver at the Mongolia Open and a bronze at the Yasar Dogu event. Experts believe more exposure at the top level will only sharpen his skills further.

Elsewhere, India endured a difficult day. In the 72kg category, Ankit Gulia lost his opening bout to Korea’s Yeonghun Noh by technical superiority. Nitesh, competing in 97kg, opened with a close 3-2 win against Croatia’s Filip Smetko but later went down 0-4 to world number one Mohammadhadi Saravi of Iran. Aman, in the 77kg repechage, also exited after losing to Ukraine’s Ihor Bychkkov.

India’s only medal so far at the championships came through Antim Panghal, who clinched a bronze in women’s 53kg on Thursday.