India's men wrestlers shine at Asian Games while women's campaign disappoints
India's wrestling contingent delivered its strongest Asian Games performance since 1962 at the Aichi-Nagoya Games, though the achievement was tempered by a disappointing showing from the women's team. The men's freestyle wrestlers led the resurgent campaign, with Paris Olympics bronze medallist Aman Sehrawat improving his bronze to gold in the 57kg category and Sujeet Kalkal, a World Under-23 and Asian Champion, claiming the top honour in 65kg. India finished with six medals overall, matching last edition's tally but elevating itself to third place on the strength of the twin gold medals.
The mixed results reflected uneven progress across the sport's gender divide. While the freestylers increased their tally from two to three medals and Greco-Roman wrestlers went from one to two, the women's contingent slipped dramatically from three to one medal. Of six women wrestlers competing, two-time Worlds bronze medallist Antim Panghal was the lone medallist, securing silver in the 53kg category after previously winning bronze at the Worlds.
The contrast highlighted the challenges facing Indian wrestling despite recent stability in the sport. With the turmoil that had surrounded Indian wrestling before the 2022 Hangzhou Games having subsided, expectations for a stronger performance were only partly met at the continental competition.
