New Delhi, Oct 14: Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Sanjay Singh has hit out at the US Embassy after nine U23 wrestlers (across greco-roman and women's wrestling categories) were denied visas for the U23 World Wrestling Championships 2026 in Las Vegas for being under-20 and having no full-time jobs.
Speaking to IANS, Singh said this has happened for the first time in the tournament's history, and it is entirely the US Embassy's fault, due to which India have lost out on gold medals, noting at least two of the nine wrestlers were strong gold medal prospects.
"The US Embassy rejected the visas of nine Indian wrestlers on the grounds that they are unemployed. For the first time in history this has happened. Even the UWW president wrote to them regarding the matter. This visa refusal is entirely the US Embassy's fault, and as a result, India lost out on gold medals. Among the nine wrestlers denied visas, at least two were strong gold medal prospects. India suffered a major medal loss due to the US Embassy's fault," Singh told IANS on Wednesday.
While the full 10-member men's freestyle team was cleared to travel to Las Vegas, the Greco-Roman and women's wrestling campaigns were overshadowed by a visa dispute, as nine grapplers did not receive their US visa clearances.
The U23 World Championships began with Greco-Roman action (Oct 12-14) and the women's events (Oct 14-16), before concluding with the men's freestyle competitions (Oct 16-18).
Meanwhile, Singh noted that one greco-roman wrestler, Vishvajit More, will be fighting for gold in the world championships.
More was India's only Greco-Roman wrestler to win two medals at the U23 World Championships, and he became his country's first-ever Greco-Roman finalist at the U23 World Championships in Las Vegas on Tuesday.
More, a two-time bronze medallist at the U23 world level, put on a stunning performance with three close wins. He opened the day with a 10-8 win over Isaac Marin Mata of Mexico to set up a quarterfinal against U20 world champion Armin Shamsipour. He used a four-pointer throw against Shamsipour, who seemed to have injured his shoulder, for an 8-1 win.
He then took out Malik Gigiev of Russia 7-4 after a long review to make it to the 55kg final.
To become the first Indian wrestler to win gold medal in Greco-Roman at the U23 Worlds, More will need to beat Koba Karumidze of Georgia, who also had a thrilling semifinal against Kyrgyzstan's Barsbek Asankozhoev.
--IANS