Kajal Dhochak and Neelam Sirohi Win World Wrestling Silver

Kajal Dhochak and Neelam Sirohi won silver medals at the World Wrestling Championships, which concluded in Astana, Kazakhstan, on 28 October 2026. Dhochak competed in the 76kg category and Sirohi in the 50kg category. They became the first two Indian women to reach the finals in the same edition of the championships.

Medal bouts and results

Twenty-six-year-old Sirohi lost the 50kg final to Japan’s Yui Susaki by fall. Susaki secured her fifth world title. In wrestling, a victory by fall occurs when a wrestler holds an opponent’s shoulders against the mat. Eighteen-year-old Dhochak lost the 76kg final 6–8 to Ukraine’s Anastasiya Alpyeyeva. Dhochak’s silver made her the first Indian wrestler in the 76kg category to win a medal at the Senior World Wrestling Championships.

Wrestling styles and competition

United World Wrestling is the international governing body for the sport. Senior World Wrestling Championships include men’s freestyle, Greco-Roman wrestling and women’s freestyle. In freestyle wrestling, competitors can use their legs in attacks and defence. The 50kg and 76kg divisions are weight categories in women’s wrestling. A wrestler can win a bout on points or by fall; technical superiority can also end a bout before the scheduled time.

Indian women at the World Championships

Before the 2026 edition, Anshu Malik was the only Indian woman to have won a silver medal at the World Wrestling Championships. Malik won silver in the 57kg category in Oslo in 2021. India has not yet won a women’s gold medal at the Senior World Wrestling Championships. Dhochak and Sirohi’s results marked the first time two Indian women contested finals at one edition.

Important Facts for Exams

• United World Wrestling is the international governing body for wrestling.
• Yui Susaki won her fifth world title in the 50kg final.
• Anshu Malik won a World Wrestling Championships silver medal in Oslo in 2021.
• A victory by fall ends a wrestling bout when an opponent’s shoulders are held against the mat.

The 2026 championships concluded in Astana, Kazakhstan. India’s women’s gold-medal tally at the Senior World Wrestling Championships remained zero after the event.