In a year that has swung between stunning individual brilliance and unsettling controversy, India’s senior wrestling team stands on the brink of its biggest test yet: the 2025 Zagreb World Championships.
What started as a season marred by strategic absences and an early doping scandal has, surprisingly, evolved into one defined by resilient comebacks, breakout stars, and the emergence of a new generation ready to challenge global wrestling powerhouses. As the national trials approach in early August and the World Championships beckon in September, Indian wrestling carries both the scars of its turbulent months and the quiet optimism sparked by a few exceptional performers.
A season of contradictions: high hopes and hard lessons
The year began with raised eyebrows rather than raised arms. India skipped the opening ranking series events in Zagreb and Tirana. Yet the payoff seemed to stall at the Asian Championships in Amman, where the team’s collective showing was branded by observers as “more of a disappointment” than a breakthrough.
In that mixed backdrop, individual brilliance saved the day:
- Manisha Bhanwala shocked the field with gold in the 62kg category.
- Deepak Punia added silver to his storied career.
- Antim Panghal (53kg) and Mansi Lather (68kg) delivered valuable bronze medals.
These results reflected a truth wrestling insiders know too well: sometimes a team’s broader inconsistency can be camouflaged by moments of individual heroics.
Ranking series: medals, momentum, and meaningful tests
India’s next phase unfolded across contrasting ranking series events, offering deeper insight into the team’s readiness. At the Ulaanbaatar Open in Mongolia, the draw’s round-robin format and local-heavy participation meant medals carried less predictive weight. Even so, debutant Harshita Mor seized her chance, clinching gold in her first senior tournament and signaling herself as a future star.
A tougher, truer test awaited in Budapest at the Hungarian Ranking Series (Polyak Imre & Varga Janos Memorial). Here, the stakes and the opposition rose dramatically. And it was here that Indian wrestling rediscovered some of its strongest form:
- Sujeet Kalkal (65kg) produced one of the year’s standout performances. Returning from injury, he took gold by defeating Paris Olympic bronze medallist Islam Dudaev and European medalists Khamzat Arsamerzouev and Ali Rahimzade. A statement win on every level.
- Antim Panghal maintained her winning streak, claiming her second consecutive gold, this time against Russia’s Natalia Malysheva in a tight final.
- Harshita Mor followed her Mongolia gold by again climbing to the top of the podium, this time defeating established opponents like Zhamila Bakbergenova and Pauline Lecarpentier an achievement that stamped her as more than a one-tournament wonder.
Other results were a mix of promise and perspective:
- Rahul (57kg) secured bronze, though in a draw deemed “relatively easy,” highlighting the need for further tests against stiffer opposition.
- Priya (76kg) reached the final but fell to Brazil’s rising talent Thamires Martins Machado.
- Teenager Neha Sangwan (57kg), widely seen as India’s “next big hope,” reached the final before a humbling defeat by Olympic champion Helen Louis Maroulis. Even in defeat, the experience provided invaluable lessons about the gap still to bridge.
- Jaideep, meanwhile, found the “going tough in a stacked field,” underscoring the depth of global competition India must navigate.
New heroes in the making
Three names have, more than any others, given Indian wrestling a fresh narrative of possibility:
- Sujeet Kalkal: His Budapest gold was not merely about podium placement it was about who he beat. Overcoming an Olympic bronze medallist and top European contenders after injury doesn’t just show recovery; it shows transformation.
- Antim Panghal: Her back-to-back gold medals affirm her as not just India’s most consistent performer but also a real contender to challenge wrestling’s global elite.
- Harshita Mor: Two golds in as many senior tournaments, the second against established European wrestlers, mark an astonishing rise that points to world-level potential.
Their breakthroughs suggest that Indian wrestling’s next generation isn’t waiting for the old guard to step aside they are pushing their own claims right now.
The shadow of doping: Reetika Hooda scandal
Yet even as new stars rise, the season carries a stain impossible to ignore: Reetika Hooda’s doping infraction. Once considered an outside contender for Olympic gold, Hooda tested positive for anabolic androgenic steroids. The emotional response from fans was captured best by a blunt sentiment: “That’s the last we are going to see of Reetika for a while. What a waste!”
If she waives her right to a B sample test (which as per few articles she has), her provisional one-year suspension could escalate to four years a career-defining blow. Beyond the personal tragedy, the case damages Indian wrestling’s credibility, threatens sponsor trust, and challenges the federation to prove it takes anti-doping education and enforcement seriously.
National trials: a defining moment
All roads now lead to the national trials:
- Women’s team: August 3rd in Delhi
- Freestyle and Greco-Roman teams: August 4th in Lucknow
Trials are more than formality; they are fiercely contested events where reputations, dreams, and selection hang in the balance. Wrestling insiders hope for “no unwanted drama and the best possible team,” reflecting an awareness that internal politics or selection disputes can fracture morale ahead of Zagreb.
Zagreb World Championships: cautious optimism
From September 13–21, the World Championships in Zagreb will test whether 2025’s flashes of brilliance can translate to sustained excellence. Realistically, expectations should center on categories with proven medal contenders:
- Aman Sehrawat (57kg)
- Sujeet Kalkal (65kg)
- Antim Panghal (53kg)
- Harshita Mor (68kg)
Deepak Punia remains a seasoned campaigner, and others like Rahul, Priya, and Neha Sangwan add depth. But the challenge remains to ensure that the team isn’t overly reliant on individual stars.
Systemic questions: depth, consistency, and strategy. This season has exposed critical questions Indian wrestling must answer:
- How to ensure consistent team-wide performance, not just individual brilliance?
- How to balance event participation to manage athlete fatigue while ensuring competitive sharpness?
- How to prevent doping infractions from recurring and damaging the sport’s credibility?
- How to keep rising talents focused and protected from burnout or early plateau?
The answers lie not just in training mats but in federation policy, support systems, and a culture that marries ambition with integrity.
Indian wrestling’s 2025 story is neither purely triumphant nor purely cautionary. It is, instead, a reflection of a sport in transition: anchored by seasoned names, threatened by old pitfalls, yet driven forward by fearless young athletes. The doping shadow, selection trials, and the fierce battles ahead in Zagreb will together decide whether this year becomes remembered as a stepping stone or a missed opportunity.
For now, Indian wrestling heads to the World Championships with scars that remind it what’s at stake and with stars that suggest why hope is justified. Beyond medals, it is the clarity of vision, the depth of preparation, and the integrity of execution that will ultimately define what Indian wrestling becomes on the world stage.
