Once again, Indian women wrestlers showed their prowess on the world stage at the U23 World Wrestling Championship when Hansika Lamba and Sarika Malik made the finals.
This created national excitement and placed them as India’s best bet for gold. Besides these great accomplishments, four Indian wrestlers also earned bronze medals, which is a reflection of the growing strength of Indian wrestlers in the world. These results demonstrate the developing talent pool of wrestling in India, arising at both the youth and senior levels.
Hansika Lamba: Precision and Power in the 53kg Category
Hansika has had an outstanding experience at the U23 World Wrestling Championship. She lost a mere two points on her way to winning four bouts in the 53kg weight category over wrestlers from Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Spain. Her semifinal match with Carla Jaume Soler of Spain showed that Hansika is subdued because she won her match 11-0.
The training of Hansika to join this tournament was not in vain. In the Sushil Kumar Wrestling Academy, where she is coached by Jasbir Singh, she has tried to train her abilities and strategy.
The experience of the U23 World Championship and being exposed to international competition early in her life helped Hansika to get out of adversity and acquire experience.
The combination of this fashion with the mindset and a will to compete by Hansika this year has now led to her being qualified to compete in the finals against Haruna Morikawa of Japan.
Hansika is also a family story of determination. Her father, Ashok Lamba, shaped his duty as a milkman so that Hansika could train at the academy, and her grandmother, Savitri Devi, introduced Hansika to wrestling. It is their dedication that has seen Hansika emerge as one of the biggest young talents in wrestling in India.
Besides, her dominant performance at the U23 World Wrestling Championship has firmly established her as a gold medal contender.
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Sarika Malik: Dominance in the 59kg Category
Sarika Malik has already established herself as a talent in the 59kg category. She also won over the wrestlers of the USA, Norway, and Poland to make it into the finals against the Japanese wrestler, Ruka Natami, at the U23 World Wrestling Championship.
Moreover, she was well balanced, not only in terms of attacking the opponent, good game knowledge and capability of changing gears in the course of the match, but also a true gold medalist.
Sarika’s championship performance provides great potential for India to win its second gold medal at the championships, and it establishes her at the top of the international rankings in her weight class.
No wonder Sarika’s victories at the U23 World Wrestling Championship highlight India’s growing strength in the 59kg category
Bronze Medalists: Depth of Talent Across Weight Classes
India’s success at the U23 World Wrestling Championship included not just the finalists. Four women wrestlers earned bronze medals in different weight categories, again showing the reserve of talent that India has developed:
These four bronze medalists at the U23 World Wrestling Championship highlight India’s depth across weight categories
- Nishu: Nishu earned a bronze medal in the 55 kg freestyle category at the 2025 U23 World Wrestling Championship. She had earned her bronze medal by competing in the repechage rounds.
- Neha: Neha Sharma earned a bronze medal in the 57 kg freestyle category at the 2025 U23 World Wrestling Championships. She won her bronze medal by competing in the repechage rounds.
- Priya: Priya Malik has won a bronze medal in the 76 kg freestyle event at the 2025 U23 World Wrestling Championships, where she had to go through the repechage rounds.
- Sristhi: Sristhi also won the 68 kg free-style event at the 2025 U23 World wrestling event in the bronze category, which was further supplemented by the repechage rounds.
These medals were not only a sign of individual quality but were also an important indicator of India’s rising status in youth development through the various weight classes at the international competition level.
The Road Ahead: Olympic Aspirations
The U23 World Wrestling Championship serves as a bridge for India’s female wrestlers to qualify for senior-level competitions and the Olympics. The play of Hansika and Sarika indicates that India has serious Olympic medal contenders.
Experience gained at the U23 World Wrestling Championship will help these wrestlers prepare for senior-level competitions and the Olympics.
All that they have acquired in the course of competing, mental toughness, and enhancement of wrestling tactics will prove helpful to them in confronting more challenging contenders during the subsequent international competitions.
The good performances of the bronze medalists also mean that India is well endowed with a good talent pool and a good foundation to achieve future competitions and win effectively in the global arena.
Writer’s Take:
Indian women’s wrestling has been entrenched by the U23 World Wrestling Championship. Hansika Lamba and Sarika Malik became finalists, and four other bronze medals made India raise the bar in the game.
These achievements are due to years of continuous training, a strategy that relies on excellent wrestling training, and the unquestioning support of the family and coaches.
As one goes further into the journey of these wrestlers, it might not seem like an impossibility to win the Olympic and world champion title of women’s wrestling in India.
The U23 World Wrestling Championship has once again proven that India is producing world-class female wrestlers capable of competing at the highest level.
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