India places at stake at U-23 wrestling Nationals in Shirdi

Young wrestlers will look to grab their place in the Indian team for next month's Under-23 World Championship when the national championship for that age group begins here from Friday.

The gold medallists at the National event will represent India at the Worlds, scheduled to be held from October 28 to November 3 at Budapest, Hungary.

Ravi Dahiya, who won a 57kg bronze along with Tokyo Olympics qualification at the senior World Championship in Nur-Sultan, had emerged champion from the inaugural edition, last year.

Around 800 wrestlers in three categories -- men's freestyle, Greco-Roman and women -- will chase 10 spots in each of the style in the three-day competition.

Naveen, the defending champion from Jharkhand in 70kg in freestyle along with the very talented Greco-Roman wrestler Sajan Bhanwal (77kg) have confirmed their participation.

From among women, Haryana's Pooja (62kg), Suman (68kg), Naina (72kg), and Pooja (76kg) will look to finish on the top podium like last year as will Uttar Pradesh's Divya Tomar in 50kg.

The hotbed of Indian wrestling, Haryana was the most successful state last year with four gold medals in each of the freestyle and Greco-Roman categories apart from seven in the women's section.