India’s Lacky Shines at U17 World Wrestling Championships, Advances to 110kg Final
Lacky defeated opponents from Japan, Georgia, and Iran to secure a place in the men’s 110kg freestyle final; Gourav Punia remains in medal contention through repechage.
India’s promising wrestling talent Lacky put up a dominant show on Friday to enter the final of the men’s freestyle 110kg category at the U17 World Wrestling Championships, placing himself within reach of the world title.
Displaying excellent composure and technical skill, Lacky navigated a tough draw that included wrestlers from traditional wrestling strongholds like Japan, Georgia, and Iran.
He kicked off his campaign with a decisive victory over Japan’s Hanto Hayashi, winning by technical superiority—a format where the bout concludes early when a wrestler builds a significant points lead. He followed that with another commanding win, blanking Georgia’s Murtaz Bagdavadze 8-0.
In the action-packed semifinal clash, Lacky faced Iran’s Amirhossein M. Naghdalipour, a formidable and aggressive opponent. The Indian grappler led 15-7 before pinning his Iranian rival to seal his place in the gold medal match. He will now take on Magomedrasul Omarov, competing under the United World Wrestling (UWW) flag, in the final scheduled for Saturday.
If he triumphs, Lacky will become one of India’s junior world champions, bolstering his reputation as a rising heavyweight freestyle wrestler.
Gourav Punia Eyes Bronze via Repechage Route
In the 65kg division, fellow Indian wrestler Gourav Punia made an impressive start, not conceding a single point in his opening two bouts—both secured through technical superiority. However, his campaign was halted in the quarterfinals by American wrestler Arseni Kikiniou.
As Kikiniou progressed to the final, Punia received a chance to re-enter contention via the repechage bracket—a route that allows those defeated by finalists to compete for bronze. Punia will now need to win two matches on Saturday to make it to the podium.
Early Exits for Shivam and Jaiveer Singh
India’s Shivam (48kg) bowed out in the Round of 16 after a close 6-7 defeat to Kazakhstan’s Sabyrzhan Rakhatov. Shivam’s chances of a repechage entry ended when Rakhatov was eliminated in the quarterfinals.
In the 55kg category, Jaiveer Singh began on a strong note, earning a technical superiority win over Greece’s Ioannis Kesidis. But his quarterfinal run was cut short by a 0-3 defeat against American Greyton F. Burnett. As Burnett lost in the semifinals, Jaiveer was also denied a repechage opportunity.
