Young gun Sujeet KalKal of India delivered a masterclass in the 65kg freestyle category, storming to gold at the Muhammad Malo 2026 edition of the United World Wrestling Ranking Series in Tirana, Albania. The 23-year-old under-23 world champ sealed his fourth series gold by technical superiority, beating Azerbaijan’s Rashid Babazade 10-0 in the championship match.
Every bout was a statement. Sujeet warmed up with a comeback 16-4 win over Andrio Avdali after spotting four early points. He followed with 10-0 quarterfinal demolition of Nika Zakashvili (Georgia) and an 11-0 semifinal thrashing of Joseph McKenna (USA), the two-time Pan-Am kingpin.
Building on his fresh Zagreb Open success, Sujeet now owns consecutive Ranking Series golds. His tally hits four, including Zheyr Shagyr 2022 and 2025 Poljak Imre/Varga Janos honors. Babazade, who survived a 16-13 semifinal scare against Vitali Arujau, had no answers.
Fellow Indian Mohit Kumar stalled in 65kg qualifiers. In 57kg, Ankush and Atish Todkar dropped repechage bronzes. No medals for Sumit (57kg), Rahul (61kg), Siddharth (70kg), Parvinder (74kg), or Aryan (86kg). A robust 48-member Indian team covered all wrestling formats.