Sumit settles for silver as India ends Polyak Imre & Varga Janos Memorial 2025 with 10 medals

BUDAPEST(Hungary): U-23 Asian Champion grappler Sumit, clinched a silver medal in the 60kg Greco-Roman category at the Polyak Imre & Varga Janos Memorial 2025 wrestling tournament in Budapest, Hungary.

The Indian grappler was ousted by European champion Nihat Mammadli of Azerbaijan and endured a 5-1 defeat in the final to settle for silver. His valiant effort against the world champion in the non-Olympic 60kg event propelled India’s medal count to 10. The Indian contingent finished with three gold, three silver and four bronze at the Budapest wrestling ranking series.

Sumit fought impressively en route to the final. He overwhelmed Sadyk Lalaev comprehensively with a 9-3 victory in the pre-quarterfinals. He continued with his scorching form and defeated the Republic of Korea’s Dayhum Kim 7-4 via fall in the quarter-finals and Kazakhstan’s Galym Kabdunassarov with an emphatic 10-1 in the last four.

Meanwhile, Anil Mor bagged a bronze medal after defeating Ikhtiyor Botirov of Uzbekistan 7-4 in the Greco-Roman 55kg. Notably, the Indian had won the gold medal in the same category at the Ulaanbaatar Open in May.

Mor struggled in the initial phase and went through a difficult start to the campaign. He lost 6-1 to European champion Emin Sefershaev in the quarter-finals but earned a shot at the medal through repechage after a 7-0 win over Artiom Deleanu of Moldova.

India’s other Greco-Roman wrestlers, Neeraj (67kg) and Nitesh (97kg), returned empty-handed after failing to qualify in their respective weight classes. Nishant (77kg) crashed out after being pummelled 9-0 in qualification against Robert Fritsch of Hungary. He went on to lose 4-0 to the Republic of Korea’s Boseong Kang in the repechage. The Polyak Imre & Varga Janos Memorial in Budapest was the fourth and final wrestling ranking series of the year.

Polyak Imre & Varga Janos Memorial 2025 wrestling: Indian medal winners:

Antim Panghal (women’s 53kg) – gold medal
Harshita (women’s 72kg) – gold medal
Sujeet Kalkal (men’s 65kg) – gold medal
Neha Sangwan (women’s 57kg) – silver medal
Priya Malik (women’s 76kg) – silver medal
Sumit (Greco-Roman 60kg) -silver medal
Neelam (women’s 50kg) – bronze medal
Manisha (women’s 62kg) – bronze medal
Rahul (men’s 57kg) – bronze medal
Anil Mor (Greco-Roman 55kg) – bronze medal. (ANI)