Indian Female Wrestlers Kajal And Neelam Make World Finals

Wrestling supporters in India did not see a woman reach a World Championships final until 2021, when Anshu Malik grabbed silver. That became the only one for five years. Now, on Tuesday, 27 October 2026, in Astana, Kazakhstan, Dhochak and Sirohi both reached their semifinals, and India has two women fighting for gold at the same World Championships for the first time. The Wrestling Federation of India’s president called it a proud moment, which is true, though it undersells how different the two routes to this final were.

Kajal’s Comeback and Neelam’s Patience

Kajal is just 18 and is at her senior world championships for the first time after winning two junior titles. 76kg: Kajal came from behind to beat Kyrgyzstan's Aiperi Medet Kyzy 10-7 in a semi-final;l she was trailing 1-7, a place where many matches are stopped. Earlier in the event she had beaten Lithuania’s Kamile Griskiene Gaucaite and Mongolia’s Davaanasan Enkh Amar. Her final opponent is Ukraine’s Anastasiya Alpyeyeva. Teenagers are often described as fearless, but a comeback from six points down looks more like composure than fearlessness, and it is the kind of habit that tends to travel well into bigger finals.

Neelam, at 26, arrives by a quieter road in the 50kg class. She beat Belarus’s Natallia Varakina 6-0, advanced to the quarterfinals when Russia’s Elizaveta Smirnova withdrew injured, and then won her semifinal 7-3 against Kazakhstan’s Zeinep Bayanova. Some will point to the withdrawal as luck, but a wrestler still has to be present, healthy and sharp enough to take the opening when it comes. Her task in the final is steep, since she faces Japan’s Yui Susaki, a name that carries enormous weight in women’s wrestling. The pairing of a teenager chasing a first senior medal and a seasoned competitor facing a formidable opponent gives Indian supporters two very different stories to follow on the same day.

The wider team has had a more uneven week. In the 65kg, Rajnita has also come back from defeat to Moldova's Irina Ringaci, who she edged in the first round, to face Japan's Nana Ikehata in repechage; she had earlier defeated 2024 world silver medallist Kateryna Zelenykh 8-6. Neha Sharma lost in the 57kg round of 16, and India's Greco-Roman grapplers went home empty-handed. But the final bouts for the gold will continue to hog the limelight and it's understandable. Whatever the scores turn out to be, and however nervous the wait feels, two Indian women will walk onto a world final mat in the same evening, and young girls watching from akharas back home will take note.