Asian Champion Amit Kumar assured India of at least a silver by storming into the finals of the 55kg category on the opening day of World Wrestling Championships here today.
After London Olympics silver medallist Sushil Kumar failed to take the mat due to fitness issues, Amit brought cheers to the Indian camp when he got the better off Sezar Akgul of Turkey in the semifinals of the marquee event.
The freestyle grappler will now take on Hassan Farman Rahimi of Iran in the final.
India last medal, in men's section, came in 2010 when Sushil had grabbed the gold.
Among other Indians, Arun Kumar (66kg) and Satyawart Kadian (96kg) failed to go the distance and crashed out of the tournament.
While Sushil's replacement in the 66kg category, Arun Kumar failed to impress and exited in the first round, world junior bronze medallist Satyawart Kadian (96kg) also could not cross the second hurdle at Papp Laszlo Sports Arena here.
World No 7 Amit, however, showed no mercy on his Turkish opponent as he finished the proceedings in the first period itself to set up the final bout.
Riding on his speed and agility, the pocket-sized dynamo was far too superior then Akgul as he collected four technical points. This after the 20-year-old Olympian got off to a flying start and whizzed past wrestlers from Japan, France and USA.
Touted as one of medal bets at the competition, Amit first floored Japan's Yasuhiro Inaba and followed it up with matting Frenchman Zoheir El Ouarraqe.
Such was his dominance that Amit overpowered both his opponents in the first period of the two three-minute round and won through technical fall (securing 7 or more points than his opponent).
In the quarterfinal too, Amit did not relax and breezed past USA's Angel Alesmo Escobedo, winning through a fall.
