Disappointing start for India: Three wrestlers lose on day one of Wrestling Worlds

Las Vegas: India did not have an ideal start to their campaign at the World Championship as all three wrestlers competing on day one of the tournament failed to progress beyond the pre-quarterfinal stage in the Greco-Roman event here. The first day saw Greco-Roman wrestlers in action in three categories – 66kg, 75kg and 98kg. [caption id=“attachment_2425860” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational Image. Reuters[/caption] Gurpreet Singh (75kg) and Hardeep (98kg) although managed to clear the initial round, both of them went down in the their respective pre-quarterfinal bouts. While Deepak failed to cross the first hurdle, losing in the qualification round of 66kg category. Gurpreet defeated Alvis Albino Almendra Jimenez of Panama 10-2 in the Round of 1/16 before losing to Andrew Thomas Bisek of USA 6-4 in the the 1/8 finals to bow out of the tournament. Hardeep did well to get the better of Jahongir Turdiev of Uzbekistan 10-1 in 1/16 round but lost to Alin Alexuc-Ciurariu of Romania 0-9 in the pre-quarters. In 66kg category, Deepak was outplayed 0-16 by Vladimiros Matias of Greece in the qualifying round itself. The top six positions in each category here will ensure an Olympic berth for a country. PTI