Asian Wrestling Championships 2026: Lalit enters 55kg final

India experienced a mixed start to its campaign at the Asian Wrestling Championships 2026 in Bishkek, with Lalit advancing to the gold medal bout in the men’s 55kg Greco-Roman category, while Aman and Sunil Kumar will compete for bronze.

The 23-year-old Lalit delivered a dominant performance in the semifinals, defeating China’s Huoying Shi by an 11-3 margin. The former U-23 Asian Championships bronze medallist will now face Uzbekistan’s Ikhtiyor Botirov in the final. Botirov, a bronze medallist at the 2025 Asian Championships, secured his place after a 5-3 win over Kyrgyzstan’s Ulan Uulu.

Aman, Sunil Kumar set for Bronze Medal bouts

In the 77kg Greco-Roman category, Aman’s run to the final was halted by Iran’s Ali Oskou, who claimed a 13-3 victory in the semifinal. Aman will now take on South Korea’s Yeonghun Noh in the bronze medal match. Earlier, he had staged a strong comeback in the quarterfinals, overturning a deficit to beat China’s Halishan Bahejiang 6-4.

Former Asian champion Sunil Kumar also fell short in his semifinal, losing 0-8 to Iran’s Gholamreza Farokhisenjani in the 87kg category. He will now look to secure a podium finish in the bronze medal bout.

Elsewhere, Sunny Kumar was eliminated in the qualification round of the 65kg category after losing to Kazakhstan’s Saifulla Kurman. Joginder Rathee also exited the competition following a quarterfinal defeat in the 130kg division, with no repechage opportunity available.

India will have more representation on the mat on Tuesday, with five wrestlers, including Sahil, Sachin Sahrawat, Anil, Prince and Nitesh, set to compete in their respective Greco-Roman categories.