Sujeet Kalkal’s red-hot form, Antim Panghal’s bid to reclaim the spotlight and Olympic bronze medallist Aman Sehrawat’s return to the Asian Games will headline India’s wrestling campaign, with all three facing challenging draws in their quest for a continental gold.
The wrestling programme will be conducted in a one-day format for each weight category, meaning the qualification rounds, semifinals and medal bouts will all be held on the same day.
Among the biggest talking points is Sujeet’s 65kg campaign, with the 23-year-old arriving in Japan as India’s most in-form freestyle wrestler.
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The Under-23 world champion has enjoyed a breakthrough 2026, winning the Asian Championships and gold at the Zagreb Open and the Muhamet Malo Ranking Series before heading to the Asian Games.
The draw, however, has given Sujeet a demanding route. He is in the same half as Japan’s Olympic champion Kotaro Kiyooka, with a potential quarterfinal against Iran’s Abbas Ebrahimzadeh and a semifinal meeting with Kiyooka if both negotiate their earlier bouts.
Kiyooka defeated Iran’s Rahman Amouzad in the Paris Olympic final, while Amouzad, the world No. 1, is not in the Asian Games field.
That potential Sujeet-Kiyooka clash has emerged as one of the marquee bouts of the wrestling competition.
Sujeet has established himself as one of the leading wrestlers in the weight class over the past year, but Kiyooka will have the additional advantage of competing in his home country.
The Indian’s speed and attacking style will be tested against a wrestler who has already shown, on the biggest stage, that he can handle the pressure of major finals.
Antim Panghal’s 53kg campaign carries a different narrative.
The 22-year-old, a Hangzhou Asian Games bronze medallist and two-time World Championships medallist, enters the competition with six wins and two losses in senior United World Wrestling (UWW) events this season.
Antim’s draw puts her in the same half as China’s Zhang Jin, setting up a potential semifinal between the two. The pair have met twice previously, with Antim winning both closely contested bouts. Japan’s Moe Kiyooka and North Korea’s Choe Hyo Gyong are in the other half.
For Antim, the Asian Games represents another opportunity to establish herself after a turbulent period around the previous Olympic cycle. She secured her place in the Indian team by winning the national selection trial, beating Meenakshi Goyat in the 53kg final.
Aman Sehrawat, meanwhile, returns to the Asian Games as an Olympic medallist and one of India’s most recognisable young wrestling stars.
He won bronze at the Paris Olympics in 2024 at 57kg, becoming India’s youngest Olympic medallist at the age of 21 years and 24 days.
His 57kg draw is far from straightforward. Aman could face either Uzbekistan’s Gulomjon Abdullaev, an Olympic bronze medallist, or Japan’s Yamato Ogawa in the opening round. A quarterfinal against Kazakhstan’s Nurdanat Aitanov and a potential semifinal against Iran’s Ali Momeni also await if he advances through the early rounds.
That makes Aman’s opening bout particularly significant. A difficult first-round assignment would immediately put the Olympic bronze medallist into a high-pressure contest, with little margin for error in a competition where the entire weight category is completed in a single day.
The three headline names will be supported by a wider Indian contingent that has medal possibilities across the three styles.
In men’s freestyle, Sagar Jaglan faces one of the toughest opening assignments, with reigning Asian champion Tulga Tumur Ochir of Mongolia in his path at 74kg.
Deepak Punia, competing at 97kg, has a potentially more favourable opening against China’s Zhou Junpeng and is positioned away from Japan’s Arash Yoshida and Iran’s Amirali Azarpira until a possible final.
Rajat Ruhal completes the freestyle squad at 125kg.
The women’s team also has several established names.
Nisha Dahiya starts against North Korea’s Pak Sol Gum in the 68kg category, the same wrestler against whom Nisha suffered the injury that ended her Paris Olympic quarterfinal.
Manisha Bhanwala, Mansi Ahlawat, Priya Malik and debutant Dipanshi make up the rest of the women’s contingent.
Nisha’s bracket contains several major Asian names, including China’s Jia Long, Japan’s Ami Ishii, Kazakhstan’s Zhamila Bakbergenova and Kyrgyzstan’s Meerim Zhumanazarova.
Dipanshi, meanwhile, faces a particularly daunting opening against Japan’s former world and Olympic champion Yui Susaki at 50kg. Susaki has lost only one bout in her career — against India’s Vinesh Phogat at the Paris Olympics.
In Greco-Roman, Sunil Kumar and Nitesh Siwach are among India’s principal medal hopes.
Sunil, a Hangzhou bronze medallist, has a potential semifinal against Japan’s Taizo Yoshida, while Nitesh’s route could include Turkmenistan’s Amanberdi Agamammedov and Mongolia’s Gankhuyag Ganbaatar.
India won six wrestling medals — one silver and five bronze — at the 2022 Asian Games, with Deepak Punia taking silver.
Published – September 29, 2026 03:43 pm IST
