Wrestler Abhimanyu upsets higher-ranked Ukrainian in opening round of World Championships

Indian wrestlers Abhimanyu, Akash, Sandeep, and Sumit win opening-round bouts at UWW World Championships in Belgrade. Abhimanyu upsets world No.7 Ukraine's Ihor Nykyforuk 19-9.

All four Indian free-style wrestlers on show on the day one of the UWW World Championships won their opening-round bouts with 70kg grappler Abhimanyu upsetting world number 7 Ukraine's Ihor Nykyforuk in Belgrade on September 16.

Abhimanyu, the bronze-medal winner at the U23 World Championships in June and ranked 26th in the world, defeated the Ukrainian 19-9, effecting a victory by fall (VFA).

The referee stopped the contest 2.41 minutes into the second three-minute session, after Abhimanyu had also dominated the first three-minute session, taking a 5-0 lead.

The Indian Indian will take on Nicolai Grahmez of Moldova in the in the pre-quarterfinal.

Akash Dahiya too began on a winning note defeating his Moldovan opponent Leomid Colesnic, scoring an overwhelming 10-5 verdict from the referees.

The world ranked No.21 grappler will take on Uzbekistan's Jahongirmirza Turobov, who is seeded sixth here and a gold medallist a the 2021 Asian Championships.

In other opening-round bouts, 86kg grappler Sandeep Mann got the better of Dejan Mitrov of North Macedonia with a win by technical superiority (10-0), and will take on Lin Zushen of China in the second qualification round.