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Chandigarh’s Yashveer Malik grapples Greco-Roman gold at Khelo India Youth Games
Yashveer Malik,a 17-year-old wrestler from Chandigarh beat Haryana’s Nishant in the final of the 65 kg Greco-Roman competition at the Khelo India Youth Games
The fourth day of the Khelo India Youth Games, being held at the Tau Devi Lal Stadium, saw Yashveer Malik of Chandigarh bag a gold in the 65 kg Greco-Roman wrestling competition.
A bronze medalist at the Under-15 Asian Wrestling Championship, Malik dominated the competition scoring 10-1 and 12-5 in the quarter and semifinal bouts. Pitted against Nishant of Haryana in the gold medal match, he emerged as the winner with a 6-2 scoreline.
The 17-year-old attributed his success to his hard work and training under the guidance of senior coach Darshan Lal in Manimajra, and added, “We have to keep on training irrespective of the weather, even COVID did not hinder my training.”
Coming from a non-wrestling background, Malik is now set to re-enter the international arena at the Junior Asia Wrestling Championship in Kyrgyzstan later this month.
Speaking of his talents, Dronacharya-awardee and current head coach at the Sports Authority of India Mahavir Prasad said, “Yashveer was already selected in the national camp based on the skills he displayed during the trials, but here in Khelo India, the talent scouts are again in awe him bagging a gold in an upper weight category. I see him as a medal contender for the 2028 Olympics.”
His mentor, Ashish Sharma, meanwhile, said, “He has got top infrastructure for his training and is constantly striving to do better in every game.”
The Chandigarh contingent had a successful fourth day at the games with the gatka team bagging five of the total seven medals including two gold, two silver and one bronze.
Ravleen Kaur bagged the gold in single soti individual event, while Arshdeep Kaur brought home the silver in fari soti individual event. The duo and Gurleen Kaur together clinched the gold in single soti team event.
Tej Pratap Singh bagged another bronze in the single soti individual and silver, with teammates Gurucharan Singh and Jeevan Jot Singh, in the team event. Reet Kapoor also contributed to the tally with a bronze in cycling.
