Indian wrestlers have been making the country proud ever since KD Jadhav won the country’s first post-Independence individual medal at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, and the sport remains one of India’s leading contributors to the overall medal tally in the world’s largest multi-sport event. field hockey.

It’s not just seniors who shine on the global stage by winning medals at the Olympics and World Championships. The likes of Aman Sehrawat and Antim Panghal won medals at the junior world championships before taking part in senior tournaments such as the Paris Olympics earlier this year.

On Monday, Chirag Chikkara made the country proud by winning the gold medal in the men’s 57kg category at the U-23 World Championships in Tirana, Albania.

𝐆𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐆𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐚𝐭 𝐔 -𝟐𝟑 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥 𝐝 #𝐖𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬!

India’s Chirag made history in Tirana by beating Kyrgyzstan’s Abdymalik Karachov 4-3 in the thrilling Men’s Freestyle 57kg final. #Goldfor… pic.twitter.com/KWkwf7Tvp0

— SAI Media (@Media_SAI) 28 October 2024

Chikkara defeated Kyrgyzstan’s Abdymalik Karachov 4-3 in the final to reach the podium and become the second Indian male grappler after Sehrawat, who competed in the 57 kg category at Pontevedra 2022, and the third Indian to win the overall gold medal. activity. When I was 18 years old,

Following his victory at the U-23 level and with the next Olympics four years away, Chikkara will now set his sights on the senior World Championships in Zagreb Croatia next year.

Who is Chirag Chikkara, India’s last wrestler to win gold at the U-23 World Championship?

Like many of India’s top wrestlers, Chirag hails from the northern state of Haryana and was born into a humble family in Juan village near Sonepat. His father Dinesh was previously working as a school teacher and currently works as an electrician in a sugar factory. sports starand I expected Chirag to either study or learn a trade.

Interestingly, Chirag had little interest in sports in his early years and was also overweight in his childhood, which led his parents to send him to a local school. akhada. He not only lost weight at the wrestling center, but also became interested in this sport and would soon embark on a journey that would lead to international success.

Chirag’s family was also finding it difficult to meet his nutritional needs due to financial difficulties, but his grandfather had withdrawn some money from his pension to support him in his journey to become a wrestler.

Before Chirag made national headlines with his U-23 victory in Albania, he competed at the U-15 Asian Championships in Iran and the Junior World Championships in Budapest in 2021, where he later won a bronze medal.

After initially training in the akhada village in Juan, Chirag joined Raipur Wrestling Academy in Sonepat where he started training under Kuldeep Sehrawat, who has been his coach ever since.