The reigning Under-20 world champion finished an unbeaten week in Hungary to give India its third title of the Ranking Series.
The scoreboard read 3-3 when the women’s 76kg freestyle final ended in Budapest. Under wrestling’s criteria rule, the bout goes to the wrestler who scored the last decisive point.
That was Kajal Dhochak. The result gave India its third gold of the Polyak Imre, Varga Janos and Kozma Istvan Memorial Ranking Series.
An Unbeaten Route to the Final
Kajal’s campaign gave little away. She beat China’s Shuiyan Cheng 3-0 in the quarter-finals, then defeated former European champion Alexandra Anghel of Romania 9-0 in the semi-final.
The final against former Pan American champion Dymond Guilford of the United States was the closest contest of her week. Level at the end of regulation, it went to Kajal on criteria, completing an unbeaten tournament.
From Lath Village to an International Podium
Kajal comes from Lath village near Sonipat in Haryana. Her uncle, Krishan Dhochak, an international wrestler who competed at 96kg in the 2000s and trained alongside Sushil Kumar and Yogeshwar Dutt, introduced her to the sport.
She joined the Kuldeep Malik Wrestling Academy in 2017, where coaching shaped her into a heavyweight known for defensive awareness and leg attacks.
Money remained a constraint throughout. Her father, Ravinder Dhochak, drove a taxi and ran a small passenger transport service while the family absorbed the costs of nutrition, training, travel and competition.
At the Under-20 World Championships she competed through fever and illness, beating American Jasmine Robinson 13-6 in the semi-final and China’s Liu Yuqi 8-6 in the final to take that title.
India’s Wider Return in Budapest
Antim Panghal reached the 53kg final but conceded the gold-medal bout to Sweden’s Emma Jonna Denise Malmgren because of injury, finishing with silver.
Neha Sharma took silver at 57kg after losing 0-4 to China’s Kexin Hong. Nishu won bronze at 53kg, beating Romania’s Andrea Beatrice Ana on criteria after a 2-2 contest.
The Ranking Series sits among the more significant events on the United World Wrestling calendar outside the World Championships and the Olympics. It draws highly ranked wrestlers and awards points that influence seedings at later international competitions.
The Wise Take
Ranking Series events do not carry the weight of a World Championship, but they set the seedings that shape one. India left Budapest with medals across three weight categories rather than one, which says more than any single result. The pattern underneath is worth noticing: a district academy, a family absorbing costs the system does not cover, and an athlete arriving at senior level already accustomed to winning. Depth of that kind takes years to assemble and can be lost quickly. India’s women’s wrestling programme currently has it.
