Slovakia, Aug 21 (IANS) Indian women’s wrestling sensation Kajal Dhochak continued her incredible trajectory on the global stage, striking gold in the 76kg category to lead the Indian contingent’s charge at the 2026 U20 Wrestling World Championships in Slovakia.
Alongside Kajal’s historic triumph, India secured two crucial Silver medals through Tanu Sharma and Savita on an action-packed day of Women’s Wrestling (WW).
18-year-old Kajal, competed in the 76kg championship bout. She delivered a masterclass against China’s Jingru Sun, registering a flawless 7-0 victory on points (VPO) to lift the world title.
This triumph cements her status as one of India’s brightest generational prospects, adding to a phenomenal resume that already includes the 2024 U17 World Championship (69kg) and the 2025 U20 World Championship (72kg) titles.
Kajal also moved up a weight class and competed at 76kg this year after winning gold at 72kg in 2025. The Indian repeated as U20 world champion, only the second wrestler from her country to twice win gold at this level.
The former U17 world champion capped off an incredible tournament, in which she did not concede a single point, by blanking Jingru Sun of China 7-0, in the final, a repeat of their opening round bout at the U20 Asian Championships that Kajal won. This was her fifth successive gold in 2026, a year which she can with seventh-place finishes at Tirana Ranking Series and Asian Championships.
Since then, Kajal has won gold medals at U23 Asian Championships, Ulaanbaatar Ranking Series, U20 Asian Championships, Budapest Ranking Series and the U20 World Championships on Thursday.
Kajal opened the tournament against Miyu Takayama of Japan, who she pinned, defeated Elmira Yasin of Turkiye 14-0, in the semifinals before taking down Piper Fowler of USA 6-0.
In the final, Sun was the backfoot straightaway as Kajal put relentless pressure. She scored the first stepout to take a 1-0 lead, then hit a double-leg attack for a two-point takedown and lead 3-0 at the break. Sun was cautioned for open hands in the second period which added another point to Kajal’s score.
A tiring Sun kept trying to hold centre but Kajal managed to push her out and also score a takedown to extend her lead to 7-0, which was the winning score.
In the 72kg category, Tanu Sharma put up a resilient fight in the gold medal match against Japan’s Chisato Yoshida. Despite a close tactical battle, Tanu narrowly fell short, suffering a 3-5 defeat on points (VPO1) to secure a well-earned silver medal for India.
Similarly, in the 62kg division, Savita faced a formidable opponent in Japan’s Sakura Onishi in her championship final. The Indian grappler sustained a 2-12 defeat by technical superiority (VSU1), settling for Silver after an otherwise stellar tournament campaign.
As the U20 World Championships head into their final stretch, the Indian contingent remains in strong contention for further podium finishes.
The action will continue with the Indian grapplers set to participate in the remaining matches across the WW 57kg, 59kg, and 68kg categories, as well as the Men’s Freestyle (FS) 61kg and 86kg divisions.
–IANS
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