NEW DELHI: Chirag Chikkara’s father Dinesh, who works as an electrician on contractual basis at a govt-run sugar mill in Haryana’s Sonepat, didn’t want his son to face the financial hardship which he endured in the absence of regular employment. He wanted Chirag to either excel in studies and become an officer or do well in combat sports, particularly in wrestling since the state is famous for producing world-class grapplers.
On Monday, the 18-year-old from Juan village in Sonepat not only fulfilled his father’s wish but did the entire nation proud by winning gold in the men’s 57kg category at the under-23 World Wrestling Championships in Albania’s Tirana. He beat a formidable rival, Abdymalik Karachov of Kyrgyzstan, 4-3 in the closing seconds of the final bout.
The gold was Chirag’s first top podium finish in an international competition. Before that, he had won a bronze at the 2021 Cadet World Championships in Budapest.
In Tirana, Chirag – who trains under former men’s chief national Greco-Roman coach Kuldeep Sehrawat at the Raipur wrestling academy in Sonepat – put up a dominant show on the way to the final. He beat Gaukoto Ozawa 6-1 in the round-of-16, Iunus Iavbatirov 12-2 in the quarters and Allan Oralbek 8-0 in the semis.
By clinching the gold, Chirag became only the third Indian to be crowned under-23 world champion after Paris Olympics bronze medallist Aman Sehrawat (2022 edition in the same weight category) and Reetika Hooda, who was the first female wrestler from the country to finish on top of the podium when she triumphed in the 76kg category last year.
Another Indian, Tokyo Olympics silver medallist, Ravi Dahiya, had won silver in the same championships in 2018.
At the Tirana Worlds, India’s age group wrestlers finished their campaign with a haul of nine medals, including a gold and silver. The silver was won by woman wrestler Anjli in the 59kg category.
“Chirag has a strong defence and his biggest strength is single leg attack. He is also good when it comes to counter attacks. His overall sense of wrestling is great. He is one for the future,” his coach Kuldeep told TOI.