Greco Roman wrestlers'' poor run continues at U20 Worlds

SAMOKOV: India's Greco Roman wrestlers continued to disappoint at the U20 World Championships as four more bowed out in the early stages of the competition, here Saturday.

The only chance for India to add another medal to their tally is through Anil Mor, who will fight for bronze against Japan's Daisuke Morishita later in the day.

The only Greco Roman wrestler to win a medal at the tournament so far is Suraj, who pocketed a bronze in the 60kg weight class.

Gaurav (63kg) was up against Moldova's Dumitru Rapesco in the qualification round and emerged winner on criteria after the score was tied 2-2 at the end of regulation time.

His pre-quarterfinal also produced a 1-1 result but this time he ended up on the wrong side of the result against Azerbaijan's Tural Ahmadov.

Ahmadov later lost his quarterfinal, ending Gaurav's chances of making a comeback through the repechage route.

In the 77kg, Aman began in a tremendous fashion, shocking Japan's Naoki Kadode 7-0 but came a cropper against Kiryl Valeuski, losing by technical superiority in the 1/8 final.

Valeuski has reached semifinals and if he wins one more bout, Aman will get to compete in the repechage round.

In the 87kg weight class, Rohit fought hard against Romania's Gabriel Edouardo Stan but lost 4-6 in the Qualification round. Stan later lost his pre-quarterfinal, shutting the repechage door on the Indian.

Competing in the heavyweight 130kg category, Uttam Rana made a stupendous start against Dionysios Zougris from Greece, winning by fall.

Rana, though, was outplayed by Ukraine's Ivan Yankovskyi, losing the 1/8 final by technical superiority.

For Rana to bounce back into the contention, Yankovskyi needs to reach the gold medal round. That will open the repechage route for Rana to stay alive in the bronze medal race.