Super Saturday belonged to the wrestlers too. Aman Sehrawat gold in the men’s 57kg freestyle final capped a remarkable day on the mat for India at the Asian Games 2026 — even as Antim Panghal had to settle for silver and Deepak Punia ended a 60-year wait for bronze.
Aman, the Olympic bronze medallist, defeated Hang Chong 11-7 in a thrilling final — bouncing back after his opponent threatened to derail him midway through the bout. It was the perfect end to a campaign that had already seen him produce a stunning semifinal comeback.
Aman Sehrawat Gold: The 11-7 Final
The 57kg final was everything a gold-medal bout should be. Hang Chong came hard at Aman and genuinely threatened his momentum at the halfway mark, but the Indian found another gear when it mattered — piling up points in the second period to close out an 11-7 victory and claim the top prize.
The final was a fitting reward for Aman’s resilience. In the semifinal, he had overturned a 6-2 deficit to beat Aiaal Belolyubskii 14-8, producing a sensational second period. Like Sujeet Kalkal’s 2-9 comeback a day earlier, it underlined a new truth about Indian wrestling: these athletes simply do not know when they are beaten.
Antim Panghal’s Silver: So Near, Yet So Far
If Aman’s day ended in gold, Antim Panghal’s ended in what-might-have-been. The 21-year-old reached the women’s 53kg final in dominant fashion — 9-0 over Kazakhstan’s Shugyla Omirbek, 8-0 over Uzbekistan’s Sakibjamal Esbosynova, and a 6-1 semifinal win over China’s Jin Zhang after falling behind early.
But Japan’s Moe Kiyooka proved too strong in the final, winning 9-1 on points. The silver is still historic: Antim is only the third Indian woman — after Geetika Jakhar and Vinesh Phogat — to reach an Asian Games wrestling final, and the first Indian woman wrestler to win a medal at these Games. It is her second Asiad medal after bronze in Hangzhou 2022.
Deepak Punia Ends a 60-Year Wait
The day’s most emotional medal may have been Deepak Punia’s bronze in the men’s 97kg freestyle. His 2-1 win over Mongolia’s Gankhuyag Ganbaatar gave India its first medal in this weight class in 60 years — since Bhim Singh’s bronze in 1966. Six decades of waiting, ended by two points.
There was heartbreak too: Sagar Jaglan was pinned within 30 seconds by Kazakhstan’s Nurkozha Kaipanov in the 74kg bronze bout, missing out on a medal.
From Birohar to Asian Champion
Aman’s journey to this gold began in Birohar, a small village in Haryana’s Jhajjar district, where he took up wrestling as a child before moving to Delhi’s famed Chhatrasal Stadium to train. He announced himself on the world stage with an Olympic bronze in Paris — becoming India’s youngest-ever Olympic medallist at 21 — and has collected medals at nearly every major championship since. The Asian Games gold was the one missing piece. Now the set is complete, and with the LA 2028 cycle ahead of him, Aman could become one of Indian wrestling’s all-time greats.
India’s Wrestling Haul at Aichi-Nagoya
Saturday’s three medals capped a strong wrestling campaign. The six-medal tally from the mat — headlined by Aman’s gold and Sujeet Kalkal’s gold a day earlier — once again proved wrestling is among India’s most bankable sports at multi-sport events. The pipeline from Chhatrasal and beyond keeps delivering champions who peak when it matters most, and the federation will take enormous heart from this as the LA 2028 cycle begins.
What the Aman Sehrawat Gold Means
For Aman, this Aman Sehrawat gold completes a remarkable arc — from Olympic bronze to Asian champion. At an age where most wrestlers are still finding their feet internationally, he now owns medals at every major championship. The 57kg division has a new king in Asia, and his name is Aman Sehrawat.
For Indian wrestling, the day’s haul — one gold, one silver, one bronze — confirms the mat as one of the contingent’s most reliable medal factories. With the LA 2028 cycle now the focus, performances like Aman’s suggest the best is yet to come.
Sources: NDTV Sports, Asianet Newsable.
How did Aman Sehrawat reach the final?
Aman produced a stunning semifinal comeback, overturning a 6-2 deficit to beat Aiaal Belolyubskii 14-8.
What medal did Antim Panghal win?
Antim Panghal won silver in the women's 53kg category, losing 9-1 to Japan's Moe Kiyooka in the final. She is only the third Indian woman to reach an Asian Games wrestling final.
What was special about Deepak Punia's bronze?
Deepak Punia's 2-1 win over Mongolia's Gankhuyag Ganbaatar in the 97kg bronze bout gave India its first medal in this weight class in 60 years, since Bhim Singh's bronze in 1966.
Is Aman Sehrawat an Olympic medallist?
Yes. Aman Sehrawat won a bronze medal at the Olympics before adding the Asian Games 2026 gold in the 57kg category.
