India produced a strong day on the wrestling mat at the Asian Games 2026, with Antim Panghal and Aman Sehrawat reaching their respective finals and assuring the country of two more wrestling medals on Saturday morning. Deepak Punia and Sagar Jaglan, meanwhile, will compete in bronze-medal bouts after contrasting semifinal and repechage runs.
Manisha Bhanwala’s campaign ended in the women’s 57kg category after a 0-3 quarterfinal defeat to Japan’s Olympic champion Akari Fujinami.
Antim Panghal Storms Into Women’s 53kg Final
Antim Panghal continued her impressive run in the women’s 53kg category by defeating China’s Asian champion Jin Zhang 6-1 in the semifinal.
Antim had earlier opened her campaign with a 9-0 win over Kazakhstan’s Shugyla Omirbek before beating Uzbekistan’s Sakibjamal Esbosynova 8-0 in the quarterfinals. She now stands one win away from the Asian Games gold medal.
ANTIM PANGHAL IS INTO THE FINAL! 🔥
Antim beats China’s Jin Zhang 6-1 in the Women’s 53kg semi-final to book her place in the Asian Games Gold medal bout! 🤼♀️
LET’S GO FOR THE GOLD MEDAL! 🥇 pic.twitter.com/YuLHXR6qGN
— The Khel India (@TheKhelIndia) October 3, 2026
Aman Sehrawat Into Final
Aman Sehrawat also booked his place in the men’s freestyle 57kg final with a 14-8 semifinal victory over Tajikistan’s Aiaal Belolyubskii.
The Paris Olympics bronze medallist had begun his campaign with a 20-9 win over Japan’s Yamato Ogawa before defeating Kazakhstan’s Nurdanat Aitanov 12-1 in the quarterfinals. Aman, who won bronze at the previous Asian Games, will now face Chong Songh Hang of North Korea in the final.
Asian Games 2026 | Wrestling
Men’s Freestyle 57kg – 1/8 FinalsAman Sehrawat (TOPS Core Athlete | UWW Rank 32) advanced with a 20–9 victory by technical superiority over Yamato Ogawa of Japan.
🔜 Quarterfinal: Today | 9:20 AM IST
🆚 Nurdanat Aitanov (Kazakhstan)
📍 Mat C… pic.twitter.com/Amdwxqn6XS— SAI Media (@Media_SAI) October 3, 2026
Deepak Punia Misses Final After 9-8 Semifinal Loss
Deepak Punia came agonisingly close to reaching the men’s freestyle 97kg final but lost 9-8 to Uzbekistan’s Sherzod Poyonov in the semifinal.
Deepak had made a quick start to his campaign, beating China’s Zhou Junpeng 10-2 in the pre-quarterfinals. He then advanced to the semifinals without wrestling his quarterfinal after Hong Kong China’s Wui Fung Vincent Li forfeited the bout.
The narrow semifinal defeat means Deepak will now wrestle for bronze.
🚨 DEEPAK PUNIA LOSES A THRILLING SEMIFINAL!
India’s Deepak Punia suffered a narrow 9-8 defeat to Uzbekistan’s Sherzod in the men’s 97kg freestyle wrestling semifinal at the Asian Games 2026.
It went right down to the wire, with Deepak scoring the final two points in the… pic.twitter.com/YvjimIqPfa
— nnis Sports|Asian GamesAthletics (@nnis_sports) October 3, 2026
Sagar Jaglan Bounces Back To Stay In Medal Race
Sagar Jaglan’s path to the podium took a difficult turn after he suffered a 0-10 technical-superiority defeat to Iran’s Yones Emamichoghaei in the men’s freestyle 74kg quarterfinal.
Sagar had earlier defeated Mongolia’s Tulga Tumur-Ochir 8-1 in the pre-quarterfinals. He stayed alive through the repechage route and then defeated Uzbekistan’s Razambek Jamalov 7-3 to book his place in the bronze-medal bout.
That gives India two wrestlers fighting for bronze later in the day.
Manisha Bhanwala Eliminated After Fujinami Defeat
Manisha Bhanwala’s Asian Games campaign ended in the women’s 57kg category after she lost 0-3 to Japan’s Akari Fujinami in the quarterfinals.
Manisha had started with an 8-0 win over South Korea’s Youngjin Kwon in the pre-quarterfinals. Fujinami, the Paris Olympics gold medallist at 53kg, proved too strong in the last eight.
Manisha had also been involved in a closely contested bout, with Indian officials questioning the lack of activity or passivity points during the contest.
India Asian Games 2026 Wrestling Results: Two Finals And Two Bronze Bouts Remain For The Day
India’s wrestling campaign now has four medal bouts to look forward to.
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Aman Sehrawat — men’s freestyle 57kg final
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Antim Panghal — women’s 53kg final
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Deepak Punia — men’s freestyle 97kg bronze-medal bout
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Sagar Jaglan — men’s freestyle 74kg bronze-medal bout
