New Delhi, April 6 – Former U-23 Asian Championships bronze medallist Lalit will be competing for the gold medal in the men's 55kg Greco-Roman category at the Asian Wrestling Championships in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on Tuesday, while two other Indian wrestlers will aim for the bronze medal in their respective weight categories.
Lalit, who dominated China's Huoying Shi in the semifinals to secure a 11-3 victory, will then face 2025 Asian Championships bronze medallist Ikhtiyor Botirov of Uzbekistan after he defeated the local favourite Ulan Uulu in the second semi-final 5-3.
In the 77kg Greco-Roman semifinal, Aman lost to Zagreb Open gold medallist Ali Oskou of Iran 13-3. The Indian, who had overturned a 1-4 deficit to win 6-4 against China's Halishan Bahejiang in the quarterfinals, will now face Yeonghun Noh of South Korea in the bronze medal match. Sunil Kumar, the 2020 Asian champion, lost his 87kg Greco-Roman semifinal against Gholamreza Farokhisenjani of Iran 0-8.
In the 65kg Greco-Roman weight category, Sunny Kumar lost to Saifulla Kurman of Kazakhstan in the qualification round and was eliminated. Joginder Rathee was also eliminated in the men's 130kg Greco-Roman category after losing to South Korea's Minseok Kim in the quarterfinals. The Korean then lost the semifinal against Mirzazadeh of Iran, ending India's hopes for a repechage round.
Five more Indians – Sahil (60kg GR), Sachin Sahrawat (67kg GR), Anil (72kg GR), Prince (82kg GR), and Nitesh (97kg GR) – will be competing on Tuesday.