Visa Denials Cost India Gold Medals’: WFI Chief Sanjay Singh Slams US Embassy

October 14, 2026

New Delhi: Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) President Sanjay Singh has targeted the US Embassy, ​​alleging that India lost a potential gold medal opportunity due to the denial of visas to nine Indian under-23 wrestlers. These wrestlers were scheduled to participate in the 2026 Under-23 World Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas, USA.

These nine wrestlers include Greco-Roman and women’s wrestlers. According to Sanjay Singh, the reasons for the visa denials were their age being under 20 and lack of full-time employment.

Speaking to news agency IANS on Wednesday, Sanjay Singh said that this is the first time this has happened in the tournament’s history. He held the US Embassy solely responsible for the incident. According to him, among the nine wrestlers who were denied visas, at least two had strong chances of winning gold medals.

He said, “The US Embassy rejected the visas of nine Indian wrestlers on the grounds of unemployment. This is the first time this has happened in history. The President of United World Wrestling (UWW) also wrote to the Embassy regarding this matter. The US Embassy is solely responsible for the visa rejections, and this cost India its chance to win a gold medal.”

Men’s Freestyle Team Granted Permission

All wrestlers from India’s 10-member men’s freestyle team were granted permission to travel to Las Vegas. However, visa disputes in the Greco-Roman and women’s wrestling categories hampered India’s bid, as nine wrestlers were unable to obtain US visas.
The Under-23 World Wrestling Championships began with Greco-Roman competitions from October 12-14. The women’s competitions are being held from October 14-16, while the men’s freestyle competitions will be held from October 16-18.

Vishwajeet More reaches World Championship final

Meanwhile, Sanjay Singh announced that Greco-Roman wrestler Vishwajeet More will compete for the gold medal at the World Championships.
Vishwajeet is the only Indian Greco-Roman wrestler to win two medals at the Under-23 World Championships. On Tuesday, he reached the final in Las Vegas, marking India’s first Greco-Roman final in the competition’s history.

More, a two-time Under-23 World bronze medalist, won three consecutive close bouts. He began the day with a 10-8 win over Mexico’s Isaac Marin Mata. He then faced Under-20 World Champion Armin Shamsipour in the quarterfinals.
More scored four points against Shamsipour, securing an 8-1 victory. He then defeated Russia’s Malik Gigiev 7-4 after a lengthy review to advance to the 55kg final.

Georgian wrestler to face for gold
Vishwajeet More will have to defeat Koba Karumidze of Georgia to become the first Indian wrestler to win a gold medal at the Under-23 World Championships in Greco-Roman wrestling. Karumidze also advanced to the final after a thrilling semi-final against Barsbek Asankhozhov of Kyrgyzstan. Now, More has a chance to win a historic gold medal for India in this category.