President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday, 30 September congratulated Indian boxer Kapil Pokhariya and wrestler Sunil Kumar after both athletes secured bronze medals at the Asian Games 2026, adding to India's growing medal tally at the continental showpiece.

Kapil Pokhariya's Boxing Bronze

Kapil claimed the bronze in the men's 90 kg boxing event after going down 1-4 to reigning world champion Turabek Khabibullaev of Uzbekistan in the semifinal. The Indian made a bright start, finding success with combination punches in the opening round, but Khabibullaev's superior speed, physicality and accuracy gradually took control — with the judges awarding the first round unanimously to the Uzbek.

Kapil continued to hunt for openings in the second round and connected with several punches, but a commanding left hook from Khabibullaev helped the Uzbek dominate the exchanges. The round was awarded 4-1 to the Uzbek, putting Kapil under pressure heading into the final three minutes. Despite pressing forward in the last round, Kapil could not overturn the deficit, and Khabibullaev sealed a 4-1 split-decision victory to advance to the final.

Congratulating the boxer, President Murmu wrote on X: 'I congratulate Kapil Pokhariya on winning the Bronze Medal in the Men's 90 kg Boxing event at the Asian Games 2026. May you continue to achieve many more milestones.'

Sunil Kumar's Historic Wrestling Bronze

Wrestler Sunil Kumar delivered a dominant display to secure bronze in the men's 87 kg Greco-Roman event, defeating the Philippines' Callum Johnston Roberts by a commanding 9-0 margin via technical superiority at the Nagoya City Inae Sports Centre. The 27-year-old needed barely one round to settle the contest.

Sunil immediately seized control, throwing Roberts over twice in the opening exchanges to collect four points. A passivity penalty added a fifth, giving him a 5-0 lead inside 90 seconds. He continued to press, capitalising on another passivity sequence and a takedown to stretch the advantage to 7-0, before executing a final scoring move to reach the nine-point winning margin required for technical superiority.

Notably, the victory made Sunil the first Indian wrestler to win two Greco-Roman wrestling medals at the Asian Games, having also claimed bronze in the same category at Hangzhou 2022. President Murmu wrote on X: 'Warm congratulations to Sunil Kumar on winning the Bronze Medal in the Men's 87 kg Greco-Roman Wrestling event at the Asian Games 2026. May this achievement inspire you to scale even greater heights and bring many more moments of glory to the nation.'

India's Broader Boxing Campaign

With Kapil's bronze, three Indian boxers have now reached the podium at the Asian Games 2026 — Priya Ghanghas and Narender having earlier secured bronze medals. India's boxing contingent will have further reason for optimism on 2 October, when Parveen Hooda, Lovlina Borgohain, and Ankush Panghal are all set to compete in their respective gold medal bouts.

What This Means for India's Medal Push

This comes amid a strong overall showing from India's combat sports athletes at the Games. Sunil's historic double underlines the growing depth of Indian Greco-Roman wrestling, a discipline that has historically been overshadowed by freestyle. With three boxing finals to come, India's medal count in combat sports could rise sharply before the Games conclude.