Sunny Khurma
Cheif Editor
Aichi-Nagoya, October 1, 2026: India continued to add medals at the 2026 Asian Games in Japan on Thursday, with wrestler Nitesh Siwach producing one of the standout performances of the day by winning silver in the men’s 97kg Greco-Roman wrestling event.
India entered the day with 10 gold, 21 silver and 29 bronze medals, taking its overall tally to 60 before Thursday’s medal events began. More medals were added during the day across wrestling, sailing, squash and other disciplines.
Nitesh delivered a memorable campaign in the 97kg category and reached the gold-medal bout after two dominant victories.
He opened his competition with a 7-1 quarter-final victory over Amanberdi Agamammedov of Turkmenistan before producing an emphatic 9-0 technical-superiority win over Mongolia’s Gankhuyag Ganbaatar in the semi-final.
That victory sent Nitesh into the Asian Games final and ended a 64-year wait for India to have a Greco-Roman wrestler reach an Asiad final.
India’s previous Greco-Roman finalists at the Asian Games had come in 1962, making the 23-year-old’s achievement a major milestone for Indian wrestling.
In the gold-medal contest, Nitesh faced Japan’s Yuri Nakazato.
The Japanese wrestler controlled the final and defeated Nitesh 4-0, leaving the Indian grappler with the silver medal.
Although Nitesh narrowly missed out on gold, his silver represents one of India’s most significant Greco-Roman wrestling results at the continental Games in more than six decades.
The performance also underlined his continued progress at international level after strong results in Asian and international wrestling competitions over the past two seasons.
India enjoyed further success across several events on Thursday.
The men’s cricket team booked its place in the gold-medal match after defeating Sri Lanka by 124 runs in the semi-final. India will now face Pakistan in the final on October 3.
The Indian men’s hockey team also advanced to the final after edging Pakistan 4-3 in a closely fought semi-final.
In sailing, Manu Francis and Prince Noble won silver in the men’s skiff event, while India also collected medals in squash and other competitions during another productive day in Aichi-Nagoya.
With several medal events still remaining before the Asian Games conclude on October 4, India will be looking to increase its gold-medal count and strengthen its overall position in the medal standings.
Nitesh Siwach’s silver, however, is likely to remain one of the most memorable achievements of India’s wrestling campaign — ending a wait stretching back to 1962 and putting Indian Greco-Roman wrestling back on an Asian Games final podium.
For permission to reuse our original reporting or images, contact The Jalandhar Times.
