Action figures: Rudraneil Sengupta on India’s newest wrestling stars

Hindustan Times · Rudraneil Sengupta · 2026-11-06 13:10 UTC

A new generation of women are now storming the global stage. One has even won the world championship. LA28, here we come?

A new generation of women are now storming the global stage. One has even won the world championship. LA28, here we come?

Indian women’s wrestling took a leap forward at the Wrestling World Championships that concluded on November 1, with a record-breaking performance that included the making of our first women’s world champion, a best-ever haul of four medals (a gold, two silvers and a bronze), and a fifth-place finish among 24 countries, our best standing ever at this event.

All four medallists are (no prizes for guessing this) from Haryana, a state where, two decades ago, women were not allowed into wrestling akhadas, and were largely barred from attending a dangal or bout.

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