Rachana and Ashvini are U17 world champions, Moni ends runner-up

Athens, Jul 31 (PTI) Indian wrestlers Rachana (43kg) and Ashvini Vishnoi (65kg) emerged champions at the U17 World Championships while Moni narrowly missed out on a gold in the 57kg in the women's competition here Thursday.

Rachana delivered a clinical performance, defeating China's Xin Huang 3-0 in the final while Ashvini blanked Uzbekistan's Mukhayyo Rakhimjonova by the same margin.

Moni settled for a silver medal after a hard-fought 5-6 loss to Kazakhstan's Madkhiya Usmanova.

Komal Verma earned the country a bronze medal in the 49kg category. She overpowered Anhelina Burkina with an aggressive approach and came out victorious 8-3 in the bronze medal play-off.

India are also assured of at least two more medals with Yashita (61kg) and Kajal (73kg) set to compete in the title clash while Manisha will fight for bronze in 69kg.

However, not all Indian wrestlers made it to the podium on Thursday.

Preeti Yadav (40kg) and Kasish Gurjar (46kg) were eliminated in the quarterfinals, losing to Maisie Anna Claire Elliot and Jaclyn Rose Bouzakis respectively.

Saarika, competing in 53kg weight category, also bowed out in the quarterfinals after a loss to Japan's Rion Ogawa. PTI AT PDS PDS