With four medals - one gold, two silver and one bronze, Indian women wrestlers recorded their best ever performance at the World Wrestling Championships
in Astana, Kazakhstan. The Indian women's previous best at the World Championships was two medals, achieved in 2021 when Anshu Malik won silver and Sarita Mor claimed bronze. Vinesh Phogat became the first Indian woman to win two World Championships medals, claiming bronze in the 50kg category in 2019 and the 53kg category in 2022. Antim Panghal followed suit, winning bronze in the 53kg category in both 2023 and 2025. Manisha Bhanwala was the star of India's 2026 campaign, clinching gold in the 59kg category to become the first Indian woman in 35 years, since women's wrestling was introduced at the World Championships, to achieve the feat. Her golden triumph also ended India's 16-year wait for a Worlds gold. Sushil Kumar, Manisha's role model, became the first Indian wrestler to win the gold medal in 2010, claiming the 66kg title in the Moscow Worlds. To date, he remains the only Indian male wrestler to have achieved the feat.
🇮🇳 Celebrating Teamwork & Excellence! 🏆🤼♀️Heartiest congratulations to the Indian Women's Wrestling Team and Support Staff for their remarkable performance at the 2026 Senior World Wrestling Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan.Congratulations to the entire team! 🇮🇳 https://t.co/gp9f3I4QIz
— Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) (@wfi_wrestling) October 31, 2026
While Kajal Dhochak and Neelam Sirohi came close but had to settle for silver in the 72kg and 50kg categories, respectively, Manisha pulled off a stunning 8-6 victory over America's Abigail Elizabeth Nette in the final. The Haryana wrestler produced a remarkable comeback after a disastrous start to the bout, with Abigail racing to a 6-0 lead.
Many firsts
Despite missing out on gold, Kajal and Neelam also achieved remarkable firsts for India. Since Anshu Malik's silver in the 57kg category in 2021, Kajal became the first Indian woman grappler to reach a World Championships final and the first Indian woman to achieve the feat in the heavyweight category.
Neelam followed suit, becoming the first Indian woman to reach the final in the 50kg category. Her pursuit for gold ended in a disappoint after a loss to Japanese legend Yui Susaki. The other medal, a bronze, was won by Tanu Sharma in the 72kg category.
Even as Kajal missed out on gold after losing to two-time European champion Anastasiya Alpyeyeva of Ukraine, her rise has been phenomenal. This was her maiden World Championships appearance in her debut senior season, following her gold-medal triumphs at the U20 World Championships and U23 Asian Championships.
In a positive sign for Indian wrestling, Kajal and Neelam's medals came in the 76kg and 50kg categories, respectively, both of which are Olympic weight categories. While 59kg and 72kg are non-Olympic categories, Manisha and Tanu will look to build on their World Championships success as they set their sights on the upcoming Olympic qualification cycle.
Positive signs
Before the 2026 World Championships, Anshu Malik's silver was the best-ever performance by an Indian woman wrestler at the event. However, this year's edition marked a significant leap forward, with three Indian women reaching the finals, underlining the remarkable progress India made in women's wrestling.
This remarkable performance by the Indian female wrestlers is particularly significant given the country's disappointing outing at the Asian Games, where Antim Panghal was the lone wrestling medallist at the quadrennial event.
On a personal front, Kajal, Neelam and Tanu will take pride in their performances, particularly after missing out on Asian Games qualification.
Manisha, meanwhile, had a forgettable Asian Games debut, losing to Akari Fujinami in the quarterfinals. She returned empty handed after Fujinami was stunned by North Korean wrestler Sim Son in the semifinals, denying Manisha an opportunity to fight for a medal through the repechage round.
India's overall medal tally in women's wrestling has now risen to 15, surpassing the total haul by the men's wrestlers and taking the country's combined tally to 29 medals.
