Up and coming India grab their first medal at men’s freestyle

India's Ravinder battles it out for 50kg bronze againstToshiro Hasegawa from Japan

By Sonja Nikcevic, FILA News Bureau

Russian wrestlers made it business as usual on day five of the World Cadet Championship, racking in two golds and two bronze medals, however, it was the Indian team that caused a stir in the final session on Saturday.

India’s cadets displayed an impressive never-say-die spirit and made it to bronze medal battles in four out of the five categories competing on the first day of men’s freestyle.

Out of the four, only one made it up to the podium,  42kg talent Janit, but the medal aspirations and fighting mentality that each boy showed, gives Indianan wrestling much to hope for in the future.

Janit clinched the bronze after an inspiring match against Russia’s Temirlan Aliev, making it his country’s first medal at the World Championships this year. However, despite the low medal count, India has shown that it has got potential to spare, and FILA Olympic Referee, Parsad Rayemder is quick to agree.

“Indian wrestling has been doing really well in the past few years, upping the quality of training centers and climbing up in the ranks as a result. We had a silver and a bronze medal in freestyle at the London Olympics, and Janit’s bronze along with all our other boys and girls, show that we have nothing to worry about in the future,” claims Rayemder.

The girls had a strong two days at the Women’s freestyle in Zrenjanin , making it to four repechage finals just like their male counterparts, but were unlucky to miss out on a medal or two.

For the time being, India has shown that the talent is undoubtedly there, but that winning mentality is something they need to work on. Having the strength not to crumble under pressure is what makes champions stand out, and India’s prominent Olympic referee knows it all too well.

“We have a long way to go, obviously, to compete with strong wrestling nations like Russia or Japan in those final moments, but we are going strong. Freestyle is where we have our best results and where we’ll keep on improving. What is important is that the kids learn that a fighting spirit and hard work can get them far. They are very proud to represent their country, as proud as I am to be here as a FILA official, smiles Rayamender as he rushed off to take his spot as one of the head referees in the final session.