After narrowly defeating Eldar Akhmaduninov of Russia in the 61kg final in Amman, Jordan, on Wednesday, Amit Kumar became the wrestler to win the championship in 2019. Priya became the first Indian female wrestler to win the match.
Amit was down 0-6 in the championship match when the Russian, a competitor in the individual category, came to play.
The final Indian to claim the World Junior Championship in 2019 was Deepak Punia, who is currently competing on the senior circuit. Prior to it, Ramesh Kumar (2001) and Palwinder Cheema (2001) had won the competition. Amit is only the fourth wrestler from India to win the prized trophy overall.
Just before the first period ended, Amit joined in with a takedown manoeuvre, and following the break it was all one-way traffic. He racked up push-out points swiftly to frighten his worn-out opponent, who requested a medical timeout to regain his breath.
Amit continued to be aggressive, which caused Eldar’s defence to collapse. Jaideep defeated Zhakshylyk Ruslanovich Baitashov of Kyrgyzstan to claim the bronze medal at 74 kg.
Five medals have already been won by the Indian men’s freestyle team. Tuesday saw Sagar Jaglan (79 kg) win a silver, Deepak Chahal (97 kg), and Sagar (57 kg), win bronze.
Rajat Ruhal will be competing for a medal in the 125 kg category on Thursday. He is competing against Canadian Karanveer Singh Mahil.
A convincing technical victory against American Kennedy Alexis Blades in the semifinals of the women’s tournament allowed Priya to advance to the 76kg final. Blades made an aggressive start, but Priya started the scoring and didn’t stop to consider her initial move. She will compete for the crown on Thursday against Laura Celine Kuehen of Germany.
