Indian wrestler Vishvajit Ramchandra More became the first Indian to win a Greco-Roman silver medal at the U23 World Championships after losing 12-13 to Georgia's Koba Karumidze in the men's 55kg final on Thursday. More was within reach of gold before Karumidze edged ahead in the closing seconds.

He became India's first-ever Greco-Roman finalist at the U23 Worlds on Tuesday and is the country's only wrestler in the discipline to have won two medals at the competition. He had previously claimed bronze twice.

More opened his campaign with a narrow 10-8 win over Mexico's Isaac Marin Mata before facing Iran's Armin Shamsipour, the reigning U20 world champion, in the quarter-finals. A four-point throw helped the Indian secure an 8-1 victory, with Shamsipour appearing to suffer a shoulder injury during the bout.

In the semi-finals, More beat Russia's Malik Gigiev 6-4 in another closely fought contest. Both wrestlers benefited from challenges during the bout, but More held on to book his place in the final.

The Indian had the chance to become India's first Greco-Roman gold medallist at the U23 World Championships. Karumidze, however, denied him the opportunity after beating Kyrgyzstan's Barsbek Asankozhoev in a hard-fought semi-final to set up the title clash.

VISA REJECTIONS HIT INDIA'S CAMPAIGN

India's preparations for the 2026 U23 World Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas were also affected by visa rejections. Nine wrestlers from the Greco-Roman and women's categories were denied visas, with the stated reasons being that they were under 20 and did not hold full-time jobs.

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