India Add Silver and Bronze Across Divisions as Zagreb Ranking Series Momentum Builds

India’s wrestlers continued to make steady progress at the season-opening Zagreb Ranking Series in Croatia, adding more silver and bronze medals across women’s freestyle and Greco-Roman categories.

With consistent podium finishes over the first two days, India’s overall medal tally climbed to 1 gold, 4 silver and 6 bronze, reflecting depth across weight classes rather than reliance on a single standout performance.

Pulkit’s Silver Anchors Women’s 65kg Campaign

In the women’s 65 kg category, Pulkit Kandola delivered one of India’s strongest campaigns of the tournament. She advanced to the final with controlled performances through the earlier rounds before facing 2024 U20 World Champion Nana Ikehata of Japan in the gold medal bout. Pulkit competed with discipline and tactical awareness but ultimately went down 1–3 in a tightly contested final.

The scoreline reflected the margin narrow exchanges, defensive solidity and limited scoring windows. While she had to settle for silver, her run reinforced her credentials in a competitive weight division where Asian wrestlers continue to set the global benchmark.

Her silver marked India’s second runner-up finish in women’s wrestling at the tournament.

The women’s 62 kg bronze medal bout provided a dramatic all-Indian contest as Anjali edged Bhagyashree Fand 5–4 in one of the most closely fought matches of the day. The bout swung on tactical positioning and counter-attacks, with both wrestlers capitalising on half-chances. Anjali’s narrow victory highlighted composure under pressure a key trait in ranking series events where seeding points and international exposure carry long-term implications for Olympic cycle planning.

The bronze further strengthened India’s presence in the middle-weight categories of women’s freestyle.

Nisha Secures Bronze After Walkover

In the women’s 68 kg category, Nisha Dahiya secured bronze after American wrestler Kennedy Blades withdrew from the medal bout due to injury. While the result came via walkover, Nisha’s progression to the bronze medal round reflected consistent performance through the repechage pathway.

Her podium finish added to India’s growing medal count in women’s wrestling, where the team tally now stands at two silver and three bronze medals.

On the Greco-Roman side, Chetan emerged as one of India’s standout performers in the 63 kg category. His route to the final was built on attacking aggression and technical dominance. He began by defeating Kazakhstan’s Dastan Zarlykhanov via fall in the Round of 16 before overpowering Croatia’s Dejan Berkec by technical superiority in the pre-quarterfinal. The defining moment of his campaign came in the semifinal, where he dismantled former world champion Meysam Dalkhani of Iran 14–5 via technical superiority — a statement victory that underlined his offensive control.

In the gold medal match, Chetan faced another Iranian, Erfan Behnam Jarkani. Despite a spirited effort, he fell 4–8 after a competitive contest, settling for silver. Nevertheless, the quality of opponents defeated en route particularly a former world champion marked his run as one of India’s most significant performances in Greco-Roman wrestling in recent months.

Earlier Momentum from Day Two

The women’s campaign had already gathered pace on the previous day, led by Neelam Sirohi in the 50 kg division. Neelam advanced to the final with three wins before losing 2–5 to U23 World Champion Haruna Morikawa of Japan. Her silver established early momentum for the contingent. Muskan followed in the same weight class with a dominant 11–0 technical superiority win over Poland’s Agata Goluchowska Walerzak to secure bronze.

In men’s freestyle, Vicky Hooda (97 kg) defeated France’s Adlan Viskhanov 8–2 to claim bronze, while Dinesh Dhankhar (125 kg) sealed his podium finish with a pinfall victory over Poland’s Kamil Kosciolek.

Medal Tally and Competitive Context

Across disciplines, India’s current medal count stands at:🥇 1 Gold, 🥈 4 Silver & 🥉 6 Bronze

In women’s wrestling specifically:🥈 2 Silver &🥉 3 Bronze

While the absence of a women’s gold will be noted, the broader takeaway lies in consistency. Multiple finalists and medal contenders across weight divisions indicate competitive depth rather than isolated breakthroughs. Ranking Series events play a critical role in seeding, Olympic qualification pathways and international match exposure. The ability of Indian wrestlers to compete toe-to-toe with Japanese, Iranian and American opposition traditional powerhouses reflects incremental progress in match temperament and technical execution.

With the tournament still underway, India’s wrestlers have already established a strong early-season foundation. The medals may be a mix of silver and bronze for now, but the performances signal upward movement in both freestyle and Greco-Roman categories.

As the Olympic cycle builds toward Los Angeles 2028, results in Zagreb offer early indicators of athletes positioning themselves within India’s evolving selection landscape.