Indian wrestler Nitesh Siwach claimed a silver medal in the Greco-Roman 97kg event at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026, becoming the first Indian to reach the Greco-Roman final at the continental Games since the 1962 Asian Games. He lost the gold medal bout to Japan's Yuri Nakazato by 0-4 on Thursday, 1 October, at the Nagoya City Inae Sports Center. In the women's 62kg category, Mansi Ahlawat lost her bronze medal contest 2-5 to Mongolia's Altjin Togtokh, finishing just outside the podium.

Nitesh's Historic Run to the Final

Nitesh Siwach, the 2026 Asian Championships silver medallist, was dominant throughout his campaign. He dispatched Amanberdi Agamammedov of Turkmenistan 7-1 in the quarterfinal before delivering a commanding 9-0 TSU (Technical Superiority) win against Hangzhou 2023 bronze medallist Ganbaatar in the semifinal — not conceding a single point. His run to the final marked a breakthrough moment for Indian Greco-Roman wrestling, a discipline in which the country has historically struggled to compete at the highest continental level.

How the Gold Medal Bout Unfolded

In the final, Japan's Yuri Nakazato proved too strong, defeating Nitesh 4-0. Despite Nitesh's exceptional form in the earlier rounds, Nakazato controlled the bout and denied him the chance to script what would have been an even more historic victory. Nitesh's silver, however, remains a landmark for Indian wrestling in the Greco-Roman style at Asian Games.

Mansi Ahlawat's Bronze Medal Bout

Mongolia's Altjin Togtokh dominated proceedings from the opening exchange, earning two points for pushing Mansi out of bounds to take a 2-0 lead. Mansi fought back, receiving a passivity point to level the score at 2-2. However, Altjin struck in the closing seconds to extend her lead to 4-2. India challenged the decision and failed; the Mongolian was awarded an additional point, sealing a 5-2 victory. Mansi had entered the bout after a strong run — beating Russia's Irina Kuznetsova 6-1 in the pre-quarters and South Korea's Jo Su-been 5-0 in the quarters, before running into Nonoka Ozaki — the Paris Olympics bronze medallist and Hangzhou Asian Games champion — in the semifinal, going down 0-6.

Other Indian Grapplers Fall Short

Sumit lost his Greco-Roman 60kg quarterfinal to Iran's Sajjad Abbaspourragani in a closely fought contest that ended 1-1, with Sumit losing on VPO1. Aman also fell in his 77kg Greco-Roman quarterfinal, going down 0-9 to Qatar's Shahin Badaghimofrad, having earlier beaten Mongolia's Borgil Tuvshinbaatar 8-6 in the pre-quarters. Neither Sumit nor Aman was eligible for repechage, as the opponents who beat them failed to reach their respective finals.

India's Wrestling Medal Tally at Aichi-Nagoya

India had already secured a Greco-Roman medal at these Games when Sunil Kumar claimed bronze in the men's 87kg event on Wednesday. With Nitesh's silver, India now has two Greco-Roman wrestling medals from Aichi-Nagoya 2026, underlining a gradual but meaningful shift in India's competitiveness in this traditionally challenging discipline. The wrestling contingent's performance will be closely assessed as the Games enter their final stretch.