Nagoya, Sep 29: India's wrestling campaign at the Asian Games will be led by in-form freestyle wrestler Sujeet Kalkal, two-time World Championships medallist Antim Panghal and Olympic bronze medallist Aman Sehrawat, with all three facing demanding draws in their pursuit of continental gold.
Unlike a conventional multi-day format, each weight category will be completed in a single day, with qualification rounds, semifinals and medal bouts scheduled within the same competition window. That leaves little room for recovery and makes the opening rounds particularly important.
Sujeet will be among the biggest attractions in the men's freestyle competition at 65kg. The 23-year-old U-23 world champion has enjoyed a breakthrough season, winning the Asian
Championships as well as gold medals at the Zagreb Open and Muhamet Malo Ranking Series.
However, his route to the final is challenging. Sujeet is in the same half of the draw as Japan's Olympic champion Kotaro Kiyooka, with a possible quarterfinal against Iran's Abbas Ebrahimzadeh before a potential semifinal clash with Kiyooka. A meeting between Sujeet and Kiyooka could become one of the headline bouts of the competition.
Antim will compete in the women's 53kg category and will be looking to build on her bronze medal at the 2022 Asian Games. She enters the tournament after securing her place through the national selection trials, where she defeated Meenakshi Goyat in the final.
The 22-year-old has recorded six wins and two defeats in senior United World Wrestling events this season. She could face China's Zhang Jin in the semifinal, although Antim holds a 2-0 record in their previous meetings.
Aman Sehrawat returns to the Asian Games after becoming India's youngest Olympic medallist at the Paris Games in 2024, where he won bronze in the 57kg category. His Asian Games draw, however, offers little room for complacency.
Aman could open against either Uzbekistan's Olympic bronze medallist Gulomjon Abdullaev or Japan's Yamato Ogawa. A quarterfinal against Kazakhstan's Nurdanat Aitanov and a potential semifinal against Iran's Ali Momeni could follow.
India's wider freestyle contingent includes Sagar Jaglan at 74kg, Deepak Punia at 97kg and Rajat Ruhal at 125kg. Jaglan faces a difficult opening against reigning Asian champion Tulga Tumur Ochir of Mongolia, while Punia could begin against China's Zhou Junpeng.
In the women's section, Nisha Dahiya will face North Korea's Pak Sol Gum at 68kg, while Manisha Bhanwala, Mansi Ahlawat, Priya Malik and debutant Dipanshi will also carry India's medal hopes. Dipanshi has a particularly challenging opening against Japan's former world and Olympic champion Yui Susaki at 50kg.
India's Greco-Roman hopes will include Hangzhou bronze medallist Sunil Kumar and Nitesh Siwach.
India won six wrestling medals at the 2022 Asian Games, including one silver and five bronze, and will aim to improve that tally in the upcoming competition.
