Lalit wins bronze on final day; India conclude campaign with seven medals at Muhamet Malo

Lalit claimed a bronze medal in the Greco-Roman 55kg category on the final day of the Muhamet Malo 2026 wrestling tournament in Tirana, Albania, on Sunday, lifting India’s tally to seven – one gold, three silvers and as many bronze.

The 23-year-old Indian wrestler, who won bronze at the Under-23 Asian Championships in 2023, sealed his first podium at a UWW Ranking Series event with a 9-0 win over Kazakhstan’s Arsen Zhuma, an Under-20 World Championships bronze medallist from last year.

Earlier in the draw, Lalit registered an 8-0 technical superiority win over Andi Muca of Albania in the quarterfinals. He was then narrowly edged by Rashad Mammadov of Azerbaijan in the semifinal, losing 6-5.

India’s Vishvajit More also competed in the Greco-Roman 55kg category but lost his bronze medal bout against Marlan Mukashev of Kazakhstan.

Sujeet Kalkal, an Under-23 world champion, was India’s only gold medallist at the Muhamet Malo 2026 ranking series, winning the men’s 65kg freestyle division.

India sent a 48-member wrestling team for the Muhamet Malo 2026, with 16 each entered across the men’s freestyle, women’s divisions, and Greco-Roman categories. Olympic medallist Aman Sehrawat and two-time World Wrestling Championships bronze medallist Antim Panghal were not part of the Indian contingent at the Muhamet Malo 2026 ranking series.

The next UWW Ranking Series will be the Ulaanbaatar Open in Mongolia from June 4 to 7.

Indian medal winners

Gold: Sujeet Kalkal (men’s 65kg)

Silver: Meenakshi (women’s 53kg)

Silver: Neha Sangwan (women’s 57kg)

Silver: Priyanshi Prajapat (women’s 50kg)

Bronze: Muskan (women’s 50kg)

Bronze: Savita (women’s 62kg)

Bronze: Lalit (Greco-Roman 55kg)