U-23 National Wrestling Championship: Hosts Haryana Stamped Authority By Sweeping Overall Team Titles - Report

Hosts Haryana stamped their authority by sweeping the overall team titles in men's freestyle, Greco-Roman and women's wrestling at the U-23 National Wrestling Championships on Tuesday.

The host state topped the men's freestyle division with 200 points, the Greco-Roman category with 195 points, and the women's wrestling field with 183 points at the three-day domestic event.

Services Sports Control Board (SSCB) finished runners-up in both men's freestyle (138 points) and Greco-Roman (165 points), while Maharashtra claimed the second spot in the women’s wrestling team standings with 160 points.

In the men's freestyle category, Haryana and SSCB athletes shared the major honours alongside strong performances from Punjab.

In the 74kg weight category, Narender of SSCB bagged the gold medal after defeating Himachal Pradesh's Naveen, while Rishab Jakhar of Punjab and Yash of Haryana completed the podium with bronze medals.

The 79kg title went to Haryana's Paras, who overcame a tough challenge from SSCB's Yash, while Priyanshu of Delhi and Vishal Kumar of Punjab locked in the bronze medals.

Sahil Dalal asserted SSCB’s strength in the 86kg class by winning the gold medal over Haryana’s Himanshu Antil, with Sumit Thakur of Himachal Pradesh and Anuj Tomar of Uttar Pradesh securing the bronze medals.

In the heavyweight 125kg division, Jaspooran Singh of Punjab wrestled his way to a gold medal finish against Uttar Pradesh's Lakshay Kumar, while Rohit of Haryana and Rishabh Singh of Rajasthan signed off with the bronze medals.

The Greco-Roman discipline mirrored a similar battle for dominance, with Haryana and SSCB leading the charge.

Nikhil opened Haryana's gold account in the 55kg class by beating Uttar Pradesh's Vishesh, leaving Aman of SSCB and Vanshdeep Singh of Punjab with a bronze each.

In the 60 kg division, Khundongbam of SSCB secured the crown against Maharashtra’s Samarth Gajanan, while Vinay Tomar of Uttar Pradesh and Ashpreet Singh of Delhi took the bronze medals.

SSCB's Sagar Singh won the 67kg title over Mauli Sagar Tipugade of Maharashtra, with Yogesh of Delhi and Sonil Kumar of Haryana finishing third.

Haryana found more gold through Vinit Dahiya in 72kg, who beat Delhi's Anuj Kumar, and Tushar in 77kg, who bested Punjab's Atul Lohan.

SSCB's Deepak Punia captured the 82kg gold over Delhi's Vishesh Kumar, while Vinay Vitthal Pujari of Maharashtra claimed the 87kg title ahead of SSCB's Manav Sharma.

Haryana closed out the Greco-Roman segment with a double-gold performance from Piyush Kumar, who dominated both the 97kg and 130kg categories by defeating Uttarakhand's Umang in both finals, while Moksh Chaturvedi of Madhya Pradesh and Satya Narayan of Odisha secured bronze across both heavy weight classes.

The competition in Women's Wrestling saw a stellar display of technical superiority from the host state, alongside Maharashtra.

Madhya Pradesh’s Priyanshi Prajapat broke through in a highly competitive 50kg field to secure gold against Rajasthan's Komal Verma, leaving Haryana’s Sneha and Maharashtra’s Neha Kiran with bronze medals.

Haryana then unleashed a wave of gold medals, starting with Kirti at 53kg, who overcame Punjab's Sonal, and Jyoti in 55kg, who defeated Karnataka's Shalini Sayer Siddhi.

Reena continued the golden run for the hosts in 57kg by defeating Tanvi Gundeshi Maldum of Maharashtra, while teammate Simran secured the 59kg title over Himachal Pradesh's Prerna Mehta.

SSCB celebrated gold in the 62kg category as Anjali clinched the title over Haryana's Janvi. Chandigarh's Khushi Rani produced a clinical performance to capture the 65kg gold against Haryana’s Tannu, while Ashwini Vishnoi of Rajasthan won the 68kg crown over Punjab's Rajni.

Maharashtra closed out the women's event in style, sweeping the heaviest categories as Amruta won the 72kg gold over Haryana's Manju, and Vedika sealed the 76kg title by outclassing Himachal Pradesh's Nancy Thakur.

"The exceptional standard of competition witnessed here highlights the incredible depth in our U23 ranks," said Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) President Sanjay Kumar Singh in a release.

"The federation is fully committed to providing these top performers with elite international exposure as they transition to the senior level."