India’s performance at the U23 World Wrestling Championships 2025 in Novi Sad, Serbia, marks a turning point in the nation’s high-performance sporting journey.
In a field dominated for decades by Japan, the U.S., and traditional European powers, India captured the Women’s Freestyle Team Title with 121 points, edging Japan (117) and the United States (106) to secure one of the most historic team wins in Indian wrestling.
This victory among only five team world titles ever won by India across all age groups establishes the nation’s emerging pipeline as a legitimate global force. The campaign delivered nine medals in total: one gold, two silver, and six bronze. Crucially, the women’s team contributed seven of these medals (2 silver, 5 bronze), proving that the triumph was not driven by a solitary star but by systemic depth and a stable, high-performing structure. The crown jewel of the men’s campaign, however, came from Sujeet Kalkal, whose gold in the 65 kg category served as the standout individual performance of the entire Indian contingent.
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India’s U23 team title carries generational significance. Past triumphs at the U17 level including the 2021 Cadet World Championships men’s freestyle title and a Women’s Freestyle U17 team victory in Amman offered early signs of a maturing system. However, converting those Cadet and Junior successes into a U23 world title validates a continuity of development, confirming that Indian wrestling is no longer producing isolated age-group champions but sustained talent across the pipeline.
The structure that carries athletes from U17 to U20 to U23 is holding and delivering.
How India Won: Depth Over Gold
The final standings reflect a tactical, hard-earned victory. Under UWW scoring, gold medals award 25 points, silver 20, and bronze 15. India’s women earned 75 points solely from bronze medals, proving that consistency and resilience across weight classes particularly through repechage were the decisive factors.
The Women’s Freestyle standings:
| Rank | Nation | Points | Medal Breakdown | Key Note |
| 1. India | 121 | 0–2–5 | Depth-driven victory; five bronze medals central | |
| 2. Japan | 117 | — | Technical benchmark; repeated final losses vs India | |
| 3. USA | 106 | — | Competitive, but narrower depth | |
India won the team title without a single gold in the women’s division a testament not to weakness but to collective durability.
Sujeet Kalkal’s Gold: India’s Next Men’s Freestyle Leader
India’s lone gold came in Men’s Freestyle 65 kg, where Sujeet Kalkal delivered a commanding, career-defining performance. His final was a 10–0 technical superiority win over Uzbekistan’s Umidjon Jalolov, a Senior World Championships bronze medallist, illustrating that Kalkal’s level is already beyond U23. His semifinal win was arguably the tournament’s most dramatic moment: a last-second, come-from-behind 3–2 victory over Japan’s two-time U20 world champion Yuto Nishiuchi, sealed with a two-point throw with three seconds left.
This clutch awareness, combined with a previous U23 bronze (2022) and multiple Asian titles, positions Kalkal as an immediate senior medal prospect heading into the LA 2028 cycle.
India’s two silver medals from Hansika Lamba (53 kg) and Sarika Malik (59 kg) were earned through deeply competitive brackets but ended in losses to Japanese opponents, illustrating a critical pattern.
- Hansika controlled earlier rounds but lost 0–4 to Haruna Morikawa in the final.
- Sarika, an Asian U20 silver medallist, lost a narrow 1–2 final to Ruka Natami.
These outcomes highlight India’s “technical conversion gap” at the highest level — an inability to consistently defeat Japanese wrestlers in tactical, low-scoring final bouts. Strength, stamina, and resilience are present; fine technical margins and match management remain the missing pieces.
The Bronze Brigade: Proof of a Strong, Stable System
India’s six bronze medals demonstrate the program’s structural stability and ability to fight back through repechage.
Women’s Freestyle Bronze medallists:
- Neha Sharma (57 kg): her third U23 World medal an extraordinary record of consistency.
- Nishu (55 kg): produced one of India’s biggest wins, defeating 2024 Senior World Champion Moe Kiyooka of Japan.
- Pulkit Kandola (65 kg)
- Srishti (68 kg)
- Priya Malik (76 kg): former U20 World Champion, rock-solid in heavyweight division.
Each athlete sustained India’s scoring base, ensuring no weight class collapsed entirely — a key difference from previous years.
India’s Greco-Roman program has historically lagged far behind freestyle, often lacking technical finesse, exposure, and specialized coaching. Yet Vishvajit More’s bronze (55 kg) won with a strong performance against an Iranian opponent signals that targeted investment could unlock long-ignored potential. His medal is not an anomaly; it is a blueprint for what India can achieve with sustained, specialized Greco-Roman support.
Structural Lessons: Women’s Strength, Men’s Imbalance, Greco Needs Overhaul
The results reveal three clear system-wide realities:
Women’s Freestyle is India’s most advanced discipline. Depth exists from 50 kg through 76 kg, and retention from U17 to U23 is consistent.
Men’s Freestyle lacks depth beyond Kalkal. The men’s team finished seventh with only 61 points, with over 40% coming from one athlete. The talent ceiling is high, but the base is thin.
Greco-Roman remains structurally underdeveloped. More’s medal is proof of potential but also a reminder of persistent systemic neglect.
The Roadmap to Los Angeles 2028
The next three years are decisive. Based on Novi Sad’s outcomes, the strategic priorities are clear:
Fast-track all nine medalists into Senior TOPS support. Their transition must be immediate and uninterrupted.
Recruit foreign coaches, especially Japanese technical experts for women’s freestyle and European specialists for Greco-Roman.
Expand international exposure tours, Indian wrestlers must engage more frequently with Japanese, Iranian, American, and European styles. Strengthen sports science within NCOEs, Nutrition, recovery, and mental conditioning must be institutional pillars.
India’s U23 team title is not an isolated success it is proof that a genuine global wrestling structure is taking shape. With strategic coaching, scientific investment, and careful transition management, this U23 core can form the nucleus of India’s medal ambitions for the 2026 Asian Games and, more crucially, the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
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Novi Sad was not the destination. It was the beginning.
