The sheer amount of talent that kids as young as 11 could portray on the mat stood out as wrestling competitions got under way in the Khelo India School Games at the KD Jadhav Stadium when as many as 10 categories in boys and girls reached the knockout rounds while the boys 42kg freestyle saw the first gold medallist being identified.

Maharashtra’s Nikhil Mali was clearly the standout performer in the category which had just three participants. Haryana’s Amit walked away with the second place after he won his bout against Maharashtra’s Krushna Ghodke who finished third.

Among the participants at the Games today were some notable names who have earlier made a mark in the Nationals in the Junior and Sub-Junior categories. One would expect them to shine in their respective bouts and sail through to the finals but a couple of major upsets were the order of the day.

The most prominent upset was Haryana’s Anju who had previously won the 40kg Gold at the 2016 Sub-Junior Nationals. Competing in the 56kg category today, she lost to Delhi’s Shalini Verma (Government Girl’s Senior Secondary School, Ghumanhera).

But not all big names disappointed. The performer of the day was Delhi’s Unnati Rathore who lived up to her reputation as a National-level wrestler. Earlier, Unnati had finished third in the 49kg category at the 2016 Sub Junior Nationals. Today she beat Maharashtra’s Smita Patil, Karnataka’s Reshma Murugan and Rajasthan’s Seema Phogat to reach the semifinals in the 49kg category.

She will face Haryana’s Nishu for honours in this weight class. Nishu herself demands a special mention here as she successfully got past National-level competitor Himanshi (Chandigarh) after a particularly intense bout. She will, of course, be hoping to continue her fantastic run and see her performance home with a goldtomorrow.

Predictably, Haryana dominated both girls and boys wrestling. Among the boys, the 50kg weight categories in both freestyle and Greco-Roman have representation from the State in the finals. Haryana’s Ashish (APJ International, Jagatpur) will face off against Maharashtra’s Praveen in the freestyle finals tomorrow.

As it stands, the anticipation among the children and their coaches is understandably high as many of them are on the cusp of history with a win away from a medal at the Khelo India School Games. With a couple of upsets on Day 1, one thing is for sure: the Games is definitely on track to achieve what it promised to; to target and identify remote talent.