 "Chirag Chikkara became only the third Indian wrestler to win gold at the U-23 World Championships. Image credit: X/@IndianOilcl")
Indian wrestlers have been making the nation proud ever since KD Jadhav won the nation’s first-ever individual medal post-Independence during the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, and the sport remains a leading contributor to India’s overall medal tally at the world’s biggest multi-sporting event after field hockey.
And it’s not just the seniors who are shining on the global stage by winning medals at the Olympics and World Championships. The likes of Aman Sehrawat and Antim Panghal having won medals in junior world championships before progressing senior tournaments such as the Paris Olympics earlier this year.
On Monday, Chirag Chikkara made the nation proud by winning gold in the men’s 57kg category at the U-23 World Championships in Tirana, Albania.
Chikkara finished on top of the podium after defeating Kyrgyzstan’s Abdymalik Karachov 4-3 in the final to become the second Indian male grappler after Sehrawat, who had also competed in the 57kg category in Pontevedra 2022, and the third Indian overall to win gold at the event. At 18 years of age,
After his triumph at the U-23 level and with the next Olympics four years away, Chikkara will now be setting his sights on next year’s senior World Championships that will be taking place in Zagreb Croatia.
Who is Chirag Chikkara, India’s latest gold-winning wrestler at the U-23 Worlds?
Chirag, like a majority of India’s top wrestlers, hails from the northern state of Haryana and was born into a humble family in the village of Juan near Sonepat. His father Dinesh had previously worked as a school teacher and currently is an electrician at a sugar mill, according to Sportstar, and expected Chirag to to either study or learn a trade.
Interestingly, Chirag did not have much interest in sport in his early years and was also overweight as a child, which prompted his family to send him to the local akhada. Not only did he shed kilos at the wrestling centre, he also developed a liking for the sport and would soon embark on a journey that would lead to international success.
Chirag’s family also found it tough supporting his dietary needs due to financial challenges, although his grandfather took some money out of his pension to support him in his journey towards becoming a wrestler.
Before making national headlines with his U-23 triumph in Albania, Chirag had competed at the U-15 Asian Championships in Iran as well as the Cadet World Championships in Budapest in 2021, winning bronze in the later.
After initially training at the village akhada in Juan, Chirag joined the Raipur Wrestling Academy in Sonepat where he started training under Kuldeep Sehrawat, who has been his coach ever since.