Wrestlers Muskan (40kg), Savita (61kg) and Harshita (69kg) won gold medals at U17 World Championship to guide India to a second successive second-place finish in women’s wrestling.

In the 40kg final, Muskan beat Japan’s Mona Ezaka in a repeat of the U17 Asian Championships final.

In the 61kg final, Savita dominated the USA’s Valerie Hamilton to claim the top spot. Harshita added India’s third gold medal of the day when she defeated Japan’s Chisato Yosdhida in a close bout.

The previous day, Priya Malik defended her 73kg U17 world title while Ritika Kataria won gold in the 43kg event.

With five gold medals, two more than they won in the previous edition at Budapest, the Indian women had their best-ever showing at the U17 World Championships.

India finished second with 149 points while Japan topped the points rankings with 180 points courtesy three golds, four silvers and a bronze medal.

In the men’s freestyle 80kg event Sachin Mor edged past Ukraine’s Yehor Horokh to set up a gold medal clash against Iran’s Reza Soleimanian.

U17 Asian Champion Vaibhav Patil lost a close 55kg semifinal bout to the USA’s Jaxen Forest. In the 65kg freestyle event Ankit was defeated via fall by another American in Tyler Kasak. Both wrestlers await the winners of their respective repechage bouts in the bronze medal matches.

With inputs from United World Wrestling