India's Lacky Shines At U17 World Wrestling Championships, Reaches 110kg Final
India's Lacky advanced to the men's freestyle 110kg final, beating rivals from Japan, Georgia, and Iran. Gourav Punia is still in medal contention through repechage.
India's rising wrestling star Lacky delivered a commanding performance on Friday to reach the men's freestyle 110kg final at the U17 World Wrestling Championships, putting himself on the brink of becoming a world champion.
Competing with remarkable composure and technical prowess, Lacky overcame a challenging draw that included opponents from traditional wrestling powerhouses like Japan, Georgia, and Iran.
Lacky began his campaign with a statement win over Japan's Hanto Hayashi, earning a victory by technical superiority—a format where the match ends early when a wrestler achieves a certain point margin. He followed it up with another clinical performance, shutting out Georgia's Murtaz Bagdavadze 8-0.
In the high-octane semifinal bout, Lacky faced Iran's Amirhossein M. Naghdalipour, a tough and aggressive opponent. The Indian wrestler led 15-7 before pinning his Iranian rival to secure a spot in the gold medal match. He will now face Magomedrasul Omarov, who competes under the United World Wrestling (UWW) flag, in Saturday's final.
If victorious, Lacky will join the ranks of India's junior world champions and cement his status as a major prospect in heavyweight freestyle wrestling.
Since Kikiniou advanced to the final, Punia earned a second chance through the repechage bracket—a lifeline that allows wrestlers to fight for bronze if they lose to a finalist. Punia now needs to win two matches on Saturday to claim a spot on the podium.
Shivam and Jaiveer Singh Exit in Early Rounds
India's Shivam (48kg) exited the competition in the Round of 16 after a narrow 6-7 loss to Kazakhstan's Sabyrzhan Rakhatov. Hopes of a repechage path faded after Rakhatov was defeated in the quarterfinal, eliminating Shivam from medal contention.
In the 55kg category, Jaiveer Singh started strong with a technical superiority win against Greece's Ioannis Kesidis. But in the quarterfinals, he fell 0-3 to American Greyton F. Burnett. Burnett's subsequent semifinal loss meant Jaiveer also missed out on a repechage opportunity.
(with PTI inputs)
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