Amruta Pujari’s silver medal in the 72 kg category of women’s wrestling at the U23 World Championships is a continuation of a family legacy, besides being the biggest medal of her career.“She made all of us proud. Her great-grandfather and grandfather both were wrestlers. Her great-grandfather was a famous mud wrestler and so was my father, her grandfather,” Amruta’s father Shashikant Pujari told The Indian Express.Coming from the Shirol village of Kolhapur, the Pujari family were a part of the court of Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj who was known to sponsor wrestlers from the area by giving them the required diet and organizing dangals on mud.However, there was a break in the family tradition when Shashikant had to start working at a sugar factory due to financial difficulties. “I didn’t do wrestling much as we were short on resources during that time. But Amruta had an interest in the sport due to her grandfather. If he was alive today, he would have been the happiest,” said Shashikant.Amruta’s grandfather Balu Pujari passed away during the COVID pandemic but by then he had made sure that his granddaughter had picked the sport he spent years playing on the mud.“Amruta’s grandfather had a big influence on her. After starting in her village, she came to our center in Kolhapur,” Dadaso Sopan Lavate, known to his students at SAI Kolhapur center as Dada Lavate told this paper. “She used to live in the hostel but her grandfather would always come. He would explain her mistakes and advise her on diet. He made sure that Amruta stayed focused on excelling in mat wrestling,” he added further.Validation of effortsApart from carrying the legacy of the family forward, Amruta’s medal is also significant for the wrestlers of Maharashtra who have largely stayed under the shadow of Haryana and Delhi when it comes to Olympic style wrestling on the mat.Story continues below this ad“It is a validation of our efforts at this center. Amruta’s medal will give the girls confidence that wrestlers competing at the world level can be defeated,” said Lavate, who has coached Amruta since she was a kid.Amruta trains at the Sadashivrao Mandalik National Wrestling Centre located in Murgud, Kolhapur which is under the patronage of former MP Sanjay Mandalik.“She has been training here since the early days of the academy. We have grown in terms of the number of students and also in terms of quality. Amruta’s medal is the biggest medal of my coaching career and also of our academy,” said Lavate.Transition to seniorsAfter clinching medals at both U23 Asian Championships and World Championships, Lavate is making plans for Amruta’s transition to the senior level.Story continues below this adAt the U23 Worlds, Amruta played three bouts, winning the first two by pinning her opponents but she was pinned in the final by Iryna Zablotska of Ukraine.“She lacks big tournament experience right now. Before her final bout, she had told me that her body was tired after the two exhausting bouts. Her endurance and stamina is something we need to work on,” said Lavate.“Since she will be transitioning to the senior level after this, I think it is important for us to work on her game awareness too. For example, she wanted to end the final in the first two minutes but the Ukrainian counter attacked and pinned her down. We will work on this in the upcoming months before the start of next season,” Lavate explained.After a successful year on the U23 circuit, 2027 is going to be a different challenge for Amruta. She will have to take a call on going down to 68 kg or jumping to 76 kg as 72 kg is a non-Olympic weight category.Story continues below this ad“She has competed in 68 kg before and I think she will drop to that category given the Olympic qualification cycle starts next year,” said Lavate.The 2028 LA Olympics is still two years away and Amruta has shown enough promise to rise as a contender in the 68 kg category.