Aman Sehrawat and Antim Panghal reached the gold-medal bouts in freestyle wrestling at the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, on 3 October 2026. Aman entered the men’s 57kg final after defeating Tajikistan’s Aiaal Belolyubskii 14-8 in the semifinal, while Antim advanced to the women’s 53kg final after beating China’s Jin Zhang 6-1.
Freestyle Wrestling at the Asian Games
Freestyle wrestling is one of the two Olympic wrestling styles, the other being Greco-Roman wrestling. In freestyle wrestling, competitors may use their legs for attacking and defending, and points are awarded for takedowns, exposure, reversals, and technical superiority.
The Asian Games is a multi-sport event organised by the Olympic Council of Asia. Wrestling has been a regular medal sport in the Asian Games programme, with events divided by weight categories for men and women.
Indian Wrestlers in the Medal Rounds
Aman Sehrawat, an Olympic bronze medallist, was scheduled to face North Korea’s Chong Song Han in the men’s 57kg final. Antim Panghal was scheduled to meet Japan’s 2024 World Champion Moe Kiyooka in the women’s 53kg final.
Both wrestlers had earlier won their opening rounds with clear margins. Aman began with a 20-9 technical superiority win over Japan’s Yamato Ogawa, and Antim started with a 9-0 victory over Kazakhstan’s Shugyla Omirbek.
Other Indian Results in Wrestling
Deepak Punia lost 8-9 to Uzbekistan’s Sherzod Poyonov in the men’s 97kg semifinal and moved to the bronze-medal contest. Sagar Jaglan won his repechage bout 7-3 against Uzbekistan’s Razambek Jamalov and also remained in contention for bronze.
Manisha Bhanwala lost to Japan’s Akari Fujinami in the women’s 57kg quarterfinals. Fujinami’s later defeat prevented Manisha from entering the repechage round.
Important Facts for Exams
- Freestyle wrestling allows leg attacks and leg defence, unlike Greco-Roman wrestling.
- The Asian Games is governed by the Olympic Council of Asia.
- Technical superiority in wrestling is a victory by a large points margin before the bout ends normally.
- Repechage gives defeated wrestlers another route to bronze-medal contention in many wrestling tournaments.
Weight Categories and Tournament Format
Men’s and women’s wrestling at major multi-sport events is conducted in fixed weight classes such as 57kg, 53kg, 74kg, 97kg, and 57kg. Semifinal winners move to the gold-medal bout, while semifinal losers usually enter bronze-medal contests through the repechage system.
As of 3 October 2026, the results of Aman Sehrawat’s and Antim Panghal’s gold-medal bouts were pending. The finals were scheduled for later on the same day in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.
