Vishvajit More Wins India's First Greco-Roman Silver at the U23 World Wrestling Championships

LAS VEGAS, United States. Vishvajit Ramchandra More won India's first ever silver medal in Greco-Roman wrestling at the Under-23 World Championships on Thursday, Oct 15, 2026, losing the men's 55kg final 13-12 to Georgia's Koba Karumidze in the last seconds of the bout.

More led for much of the final before Karumidze edged ahead at the end. The margin was one point. Gold would have made More the first Indian to win a Greco-Roman title at the Under-23 Worlds. Silver still sets a record no Indian Greco-Roman wrestler had reached at this level.

A final reached the hard way

More became India's first Greco-Roman finalist at the Under-23 Worlds on Tuesday, and he got there through three close wins. He opened with a 10-8 win over Isaac Marin Mata of Mexico. In the quarterfinal he beat Armin Shamsipour of Iran, the reigning Under-20 world champion, 8-1, using a four point throw in a bout where Shamsipour appeared to hurt his shoulder. His semifinal against Malik Gigiev of Russia was close as well, and More came through it to take his place in the final.

The medal is his third at the Under-23 World Championships. He had already won two bronze medals at this level, the only Indian Greco-Roman wrestler to win two medals at the event. The silver in Las Vegas moves him one step higher, and makes him the most successful Indian Greco-Roman wrestler at the Under-23 Worlds.

Karumidze had his own hard road to gold. The Georgian came through a close semifinal against Barsbek Asankozhoev of Kyrgyzstan before meeting More.

A team hit by visa refusals

India's campaign in Las Vegas had a setback before the wrestling began. Nine Indian Under-23 wrestlers, across the Greco-Roman and women's events, were denied visas for the championships. Reports said the refusals were on the grounds that the wrestlers were under 20 and did not hold full time jobs.

The rest of the Greco-Roman team did not reach the medal rounds. Chetan, at 63kg, lost in the pre-quarterfinal, and Karan Kamboj, at 87kg, lost by technical superiority in the qualification round.

In the women's events, Komal will fight for bronze after losing her semifinal by technical superiority to Alina Filipovych of Ukraine. Diksha Malik also stays in the bronze medal race. Mansi Lather went out in the quarterfinals, losing 9-10 to Laura Godino of Italy.

Why the medal matters

Indian wrestling has won its world level medals mostly in freestyle. Greco-Roman, where holds below the waist are banned, has been the weaker side of the programme for years. A first final, and now a first silver, at the Under-23 Worlds gives the discipline a result to build on, and gives More a record that stood untouched until this week: finalist, silver medallist, and three time medallist at one age group championship.