Amritsar lad lifts state gold, qualifies for national wrestling championship

Local lad Uday Sharma clinched the gold in the Junior State Wrestling Championship and qualified for the four-day national wrestling championship to be held in Chhattisgarh from April 12. The 19-year-old athlete brought laurels to the district by securing the gold medal in the 72 kg category (Greco-Roman style) at the state-level competition recently held in Amritsar. The achievement speaks to his hard work and commitment to the sport.

Uday will represent Punjab at the national-level event in Chhatisgarh. His coach and prominent sports figures have expressed their joy at his success and have wished him luck for the upcoming championship. The boy will prove his mettle and go on to bring glory to the country at the Olympic and international levels, they said.

In December of 2023, Uday won two bronze medals in the Greco-Roman and freestyle categories of the School National Wrestling Championship held in New Delhi. The same year he had competed in the National Wrestling Championship in Ayodhya after emrging victorious in the U-17 State Wrestling Championship (65 kg category).

He had participated in the U-15 National Wrestling Greco-Roman Championship held in Ranchi in 2021 and the U-17 Federation Wrestling Cup held in New Delhi in December 2022. He had also emerged victorious in the School State Championship held in Patiala (2022).

Uday’s father, Vikram Sharma, is a well-known wrestling coach. He has trained many athletes during his time as the Greco-Roman coach of the junior and senior national teams. During his wrestling career, Vikram had won gold medals in the World Police Games held in Canada (2009) and the US (2011). He has also won eight gold medals in the All-India Police Games and finished first in the National Championship of 2011.