6 grapplers in top-3 as Indians dominate Wrestling World Rankings

In the latest rankings released by United World Wrestling (UWW), for the first time, as many as six Indian wrestlers have found a place in the world top-3 of their respective weight categories. The rankings, which were released on 2nd January, 2020, sees the young Deepak Punia on the top in men's freestyle 86 kg category.

The likes of Bajrang Punia, Rahul Aware and Vinesh Phogat are ranked second in the world in their respective categories while Seema and Manju are ranked third in their weight divisions.

For Vinesh, this is her best-ever ranking. The Haryana grappler, who has her sights set on a Tokyo Olympic medal after missing out on in Rio due to an unfortunate injury, has enjoyed a surge in form over the last year or so. Her latest ranking is a reflection of her consistent performances on the mat.

Deepak, who bagged the silver medal at last year's World Wrestling Championships in Nur Sultan became World No. 1 for the first time in September 2019. Before the World Championships, the 20-year-old had also won a silver at Yasar Dogu and bronze medals at Asian Championship and at Sassari tournaments.

Bajrang, who is the only wrestler to have been exempted from this weekend's selection trials for February's Olympic qualifiers, fell from the top of the rankings in Men's 65kg freestyle after he had to settle for bronze in the World Championships. The experienced pro will have to wait a few more weeks before he can reclaim his numero uno spot.

Here is a list of all Indian grapplers in the World Top 10 —

Freestyle Men

Ravi Kumar (57kg) - 5th

Rahul Balasaheb Aware (61kg) - 2nd

Bajrang Punia (65kg) - 2nd

Amit Kumar Dhankar (74kg) - 8th

Deepak Punia (86kg) - 1st

Viky Chahar (92kg) - 6th

Greco Roman Men

Gyanender (60kg) - 9th

Women's Wrestling

Seema (50kg) - 3rd

Vinesh Phogat (53kd) - 2nd

Manju Kumari (59kg) - 3rd

Pooja Dhanda (59kg) - 5th