Nitesh Siwach produced a dominant 9-0 win over Mongolia's Gankhuyag Ganbaatar in the men's Greco-Roman 97kg semifinal on Thursday, becoming the first Indian Greco-Roman wrestler in 64 years to reach an Asian Games final.
The 23-year-old outclassed Ganbaatar to earn a victory by technical superiority, capping an emphatic day on the mat in Aichi-Nagoya. Earlier in the day, Siwach had defeated Turkmenistan's Amanberdi Agamammedov 7-1 in the quarterfinals.
A final against Japan's Yuri Nakazato awaits, with the gold-medal bout scheduled for 3:35 p.m. IST on Thursday. If Siwach beats Nakazato, he will become the first Indian to win an Asian Games gold in Greco-Roman wrestling in 64 years.
The 1962 benchmark
Greco-Roman wrestling made its Asian Games debut at the 1962 Jakarta edition, where India enjoyed a strong campaign. Ganpat Andalkar, the first and only Indian to win a Greco-Roman gold at the Asiad, took the men's +97kg title that year, adding it to a freestyle silver in the same weight category. Maruti Mane won silver in the 97kg class, Sajjan Singh took silver in the 87kg class, and Udey Chand and Narsingh Patel won bronze medals.
No Indian Greco-Roman wrestler had reached an Asian Games final since that edition. India's Greco-Roman medals since have all been bronze: Sukhchain Singh Cheema in 1974, Ravinder Singh and Sunil Kumar Rana in 2010, Sunil Kumar in 2023, and Sunil Kumar again in Aichi-Nagoya in the men's 87kg event this week, making this India's second wrestling medal of these Games.
Sources:
https://sportstar.thehindu.com/asia...ian-games-ganpat-andalkar/article71531386.ece
The 23-year-old outclassed Ganbaatar to earn a victory by technical superiority, capping an emphatic day on the mat in Aichi-Nagoya. Earlier in the day, Siwach had defeated Turkmenistan's Amanberdi Agamammedov 7-1 in the quarterfinals.
A final against Japan's Yuri Nakazato awaits, with the gold-medal bout scheduled for 3:35 p.m. IST on Thursday. If Siwach beats Nakazato, he will become the first Indian to win an Asian Games gold in Greco-Roman wrestling in 64 years.
The 1962 benchmark
Greco-Roman wrestling made its Asian Games debut at the 1962 Jakarta edition, where India enjoyed a strong campaign. Ganpat Andalkar, the first and only Indian to win a Greco-Roman gold at the Asiad, took the men's +97kg title that year, adding it to a freestyle silver in the same weight category. Maruti Mane won silver in the 97kg class, Sajjan Singh took silver in the 87kg class, and Udey Chand and Narsingh Patel won bronze medals.
No Indian Greco-Roman wrestler had reached an Asian Games final since that edition. India's Greco-Roman medals since have all been bronze: Sukhchain Singh Cheema in 1974, Ravinder Singh and Sunil Kumar Rana in 2010, Sunil Kumar in 2023, and Sunil Kumar again in Aichi-Nagoya in the men's 87kg event this week, making this India's second wrestling medal of these Games.
Sources:
https://sportstar.thehindu.com/asia...ian-games-ganpat-andalkar/article71531386.ece
