Naveen was the first to lose, to 2018 Pan-American champion Oscar Pino Hinds by technical superiority. But, the Cuban reached the final to help the Indian stay alive in the 130kg category of Greco-Roman style. Naveen has to first win against Heiki Nabi of Estonia and then defeat Kyrgyzstan's Murat Ramonov to reach the bronze medal round.
Gurpreet (77kg) and Manish (60kg) brought some cheers to the dejected Indian camp by winning their respective first round duels convincingly. In a sensational start, Gurpreet pinned Austria's Michael Wagner after wriggling out of a difficult head-lock position. Manish won his pre-quarterfinal round against Finland's Lauri Johannes Maekhonen by technical superiority.
Gurpreet later fought his heart out against Serbian World No.2 Nemes, but had to exit from the Championships.
Gurpreet led 1-0 after getting a passivity point and maintained the lead till the end of the first period. In the second period, Gurpreet conceded a point on passivity but wriggled out of a tricky ground position to avoid more damage.
Nemes, while trying to push Gurpreet out of the mat, lost balance near the edge of the circle and fell with the Indian on him, but the referee still handed two points to the Serbian. India coach Hargobind Singh challenged the call but lost and as a result, lost one more point. The Serbian kept his lead to advance to the next round.
Nemes lost his quarterfinal contest against Kazakshtan's Askhat Dilmukhamedov. That result ended Gurpreet's hopes of getting a repechage round. In the very competitive 60kg category, Manish trailed 0-3 after losing the first point for passivity.
But he turned it around brilliantly, logging 11 points in a row to win by technical superiority.
Manish was faster and more aggressive on the mat, while the Finn hardly attacked. However, in his next bout against Moldova's Victor Ciobanu, Manish lost by technical superiority.
The Moldovan later lost a fiercely-fought quarter-final encounter to Japan's Kenichiro Fumita, spelling Manish's ouster.
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