World Wrestling Championships: Antim Panghal bags lone bronze as India struggles

New Delhi: India had one of its worst performances at the World Wrestling Championships in Zagreb, with 29 of the 30 grapplers in the men’s and women’s freestyle and Greco-Roman categories returning without a medal. The event concluded in the Croatian capital on Saturday. Except for Antim Panghal, who secured her second consecutive bronze in the women’s 53kg at the Worlds, no other Indian wrestler won any medal. The government had invested lakhs in preparing the Worlds-bound wrestling team for the biennial event, including sanctioning a month-long overseas camp in Croatia. On Saturday, Greco-Roman wrestler Sunny Kumar, competing in the 63kg, lost 1-3 to Qatar’s Aref Hosseinkhoun. Anil failed to score a single point against Qatari Gagik M Snjoyan, losing 0-7 in the 67kg. Karan Kamboj lost by technical superiority to American Payton Jacobson in the 87kg qualification round.