Vishvajit More carries forward Kolhapur's rich wrestling legacy by claiming back-to-back bronze at U23 Worlds

New Delhi:

Kolhapur, in Maharashtra’s south, has a long and rich tradition of wrestling and was considered the wrestling capital of India long before Haryana emerged as the sport’s hotbed.The world remembers Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav, the legendary wrestler from Maharashtra, as independent India’s first individual Olympic medallist. At the same Summer Games in Helsinki 1952, the country would have another Olympian medallist apart from Jadhav had Krishnarao Mangave from Kolhapur’s traditional mud pits not narrowly missed the bronze by a mere one point.Continuing its tradition of producing generations of wrestlers, Kolhapur’s akhadas, better known as ‘talims’ in the district’s cultural presence, have produced another talented grappler in 21-year-old Vishvajit More.Born to farmer parents who work on leased lands, More shone bright at the U23 World Wrestling Championships, currently underway in Serbia’s Novi Sad, by becoming the first Indian greco-roman wrestler to win back-to-back medals at the age-group event.More secured his second consecutive bronze after triumphing in his repechage medal round on Wednesday evening. He achieved a come-from-behind victory over reigning Asian U23 champion, Kazakhstan’s Yerassyl Mamyrbekov, with a score of 5-4 in the 55kg bronze match.

More was the only greco-roman wrestler from India to win a medal in Serbia, as all other nine grapplers in the category were eliminated in their respective initial rounds, bowing out of the event. At the 2024 edition of the U23 Worlds in Albania’s Tirana, More had won bronze in the same weight division.“I wanted to change the colour of the medal this time, but I fumbled against Russia’s Alibek Amirov. I lost 1-9 against him in an energy-sapping bout. Amirov reached the finals, and it provided me with a chance to fight for bronze. It feels good to medal at two editions of the Worlds. I am looking ahead to the Asian Games next year and want to do well there,” More told TOI from Novi Sad.More started his campaign with a tough 6-4 win over senior world medalist, Denis Mihai of Romania, in the qualifying round. In the pre-quarters, he outclassed American Kenneth Crosby 9-1 on technical superiority before losing to Amirov in the last-eight stage. In his first match in repechage, More got the better of Georgian G Khochalidze 9-1 to qualify for the bronze bout and later secure the medal.“It was my first international competition of the year. I got selected for the Indian Army and was undergoing training as a havildar in the Maratha Light Infantry.

Earlier, I was training at the Boys Sports Company in Karnataka’s Belgaum. I am happy to make the nation proud,” he said.Talking about his journey, More from Sawarde village in Radhanagari taluka informed that he started wrestling at the age of seven when he was in class 2nd.“I was never interested in studying. All I wanted to do was wrestle. My parents never stopped me from pursuing my sports dreams. I still remember earning Rs 50 as my first prize money at a mud wrestling event when I was in 4th grade. That day, I decided to make a career in wrestling. I enrolled myself at a local akhada in the village and later joined the Army for better facilities and support,” he said.