Kajal Dhochak and Neelam Sirohi win silver as Indian women make history at Wrestling Worlds

India's women wrestlers returned with two silver medals from the finals at the World Wrestling Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan, on Wednesday, marking the first time two Indian women have reached title bouts at the same edition of the senior Worlds.

Teenager Kajal Dhochak came within a whisker of gold in the 76kg final, losing 6-8 to Ukraine's Anastasiya Alpyeyeva. In the 50kg final, Neelam Sirohi was pinned by Japan's Yui Susaki, a four-time world champion, after falling behind 0-5.

A remarkable senior debut

The 18-year-old Kajal, a two-time Under-20 world champion, was competing at her first senior World Championships. She reached the final with a spirited comeback in the semi-final, recovering from a 1-7 deficit to beat Kyrgyzstan's Aiperi Medet Kyzy 10-7.

Neelam, 26, secured her place in the final by beating home favourite Zeinep Bayanova of Kazakhstan 7-3 in the semi-final. Her opponent in the final, Susaki, is one of the most decorated wrestlers in the lighter weight classes, and she controlled the bout before winning by fall.

Building on Anshu Malik's milestone

Anshu Malik became the first Indian woman to reach a World Championships final in 2021. Wednesday's double appearance in the finals underlines the growing depth of women's wrestling in India, with younger athletes moving quickly from age-group success to medals at senior level.

There was disappointment for Rajnita in the 65kg category, who lost 2-6 to Japan's Nana Ikehata in the repechage and missed out on a bronze medal bout. The women's competition was set to conclude with the 55kg and 59kg classes.

Why it matters

An Indian woman has yet to win a senior world wrestling title, and two silvers in one day show the target is getting closer. The results are a timely boost for Indian wrestling as athletes begin building towards qualification for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Both medallists will now look to convert their near-misses into gold at the next major events on the calendar.