India win 6 medals in wrestling, clinch golden freestyle double after 48 years
For 48 years, India had waited to see two men's freestyle wrestlers win gold at the same Asian Games. Aman Sehrawat and Sujeet Kalkal finally ended that wait in Nagoya, leading India to six wrestling medals in one of its strongest campaigns at the continental showpiece.
Aman completed the historic double on Saturday, beating reigning world champion Chong Song Han of North Korea 11-7 in a gripping men's 57kg final to turn his Hangzhou bronze into gold.
Sujeet had set it up a day earlier with his dramatic 65kg triumph. Together, their victories gave India two men's freestyle champions at an Asian Games for the first time since 1978.
India finished with two golds, two silvers and two bronze medals. It was a significant turnaround from the 2023 Hangzhou Games, where the wrestling contingent did not win a gold.
Han made life difficult for Aman from the start, repeatedly locking his arms and refusing to give the Indian an easy opening. Aman was eventually put on the activity clock and used the opportunity to get his first points. He followed it with a takedown to move 4-1 ahead before finding another opening with a left-leg attack and throwing Han to the mat for a 6-1 lead.
Han received treatment on his left knee but returned to the mat and changed the complexion of the final. Three consecutive scoring moves put the North Korean 7-6 ahead, leaving Aman with work to do.
The Indian wrestler did not panic. He responded with two takedowns to regain the lead and move within touching distance of gold. Han challenged the final point awarded to Aman, but lost the appeal, giving the Indian another point and confirming the 11-7 victory.
Aman had earlier beaten Tajikistan's Aiaal Belolyubskii 14-8 in the semifinals. He opened his campaign with a 20-9 technical superiority win over Japan's Yamato Ogawa before defeating Kazakhstan's Nurdanat Aitanov in the quarterfinals. The 23-year-old now has an Asian Games gold to go with the Olympic bronze he won at Paris 2024.SUJEET'S COMEBACK DELIVERS GOLD
Sujeet had already given India its first men's freestyle gold of the Games with a remarkable comeback in the 65kg final on Friday. The Indian trailed Tajikistan's Abdulmazhid Kudiev 2-9 before scoring eight unanswered points to win 10-9.
Kudiev had initially kept Sujeet quiet with arm locks and a physical approach. But the Indian gradually worked out his opponent and began using his speed to repeatedly get behind him for takedowns. The comeback earned Sujeet another major title in a year in which he has continued to establish himself in the 65kg category.NITESH MAKES GRECO-ROMAN HISTORY
India's two silver medals came through Nitesh Siwach in men's Greco-Roman 97kg and Antim Panghal in women's 53kg. Nitesh lost 4-0 to Japan's Yuri Nakazato in the final, but his run to the gold-medal bout was historic.
The 23-year-old became the first Indian wrestler to contest a standalone Greco-Roman gold-medal bout at the Asian Games. His silver was India's first medal in Greco-Roman wrestling at the Games since 1962, when India won gold and silver in the style's Asian Games debut.ANTIM'S GOLD BID ENDS IN DISAPPOINTMENT
Antim Panghal could not go one better than her bronze from Hangzhou. The Indian was beaten 1-9 by Japan's Mei Miyooka in the women's 53kg final, with the 2024 World Champion never allowing Antim to settle into her attacking game.
Antim attempted a right-leg attack in the second period, but Miyooka quickly countered before producing a four-pointer to move 9-1 ahead. Only Vinesh Phogat had previously won an Asian Games gold for India in women's wrestling, taking the 50kg title at the 2018 Jakarta Games.advertisementDEEPAK BOUNCES BACK FOR BRONZEDeepak Punia added another Asian Games medal to his collection with a 2-1 victory over Mongolia's Gankhuyang Ganbataar in the men's 97kg bronze-medal bout. The 27-year-old had won silver at Hangzhou and moved up from 86kg to 97kg for the Games.
He opened with a 12-2 technical superiority win over China's Junpeng Zhou before receiving a walkover from Hong Kong's Vincent Fung Wui Li. Deepak then suffered a narrow 8-9 defeat to Uzbekistan's Sherzod Poyonov in the semifinals but recovered to secure bronze. The medal adds to a career that already includes a World Championship silver in 2019 and five Asian Championships medals.SAGAR, MANISHA MISS OUT
Sagar Jaglan reached the men's 74kg quarterfinals with an 8-1 win over Mongolia's Tulga Tumur-Ochir but lost to Iran's Yones Emamichoghaei by technical superiority.
He fought his way back through the repechage with a 7-3 win over Uzbekistan's Razambek Jamalov, only to lose the bronze-medal bout to Kazakhstan's Nurkozha Kaipanov by fall within seconds.
Manisha Bhanwala also missed out in the women's 57kg category.
She beat Korea's Youngjin Kwon by fall in her opening bout but lost 0-3 to Olympic champion Akari Fujinami of Japan in the quarterfinals. Fujinami's failure to reach the final ended Manisha's hopes of a repechage route.
But by then, India's wrestling campaign had already secured its place in the record books. Aman and Sujeet had brought home two men's freestyle golds, something Indian wrestling had not seen at an Asian Games since 1978.- Ends
