Nitesh Siwach came within one bout of ending India’s 64-year wait for a Greco-Roman wrestling gold at the Asian Games, but had to settle for silver after Japan’s Yuri Nakazato won the men’s 97 kg final at the Nagoya City Inae Sports Center on Thursday. With the achievement, Nitesh became only the second Indian Greco-Roman wrestler in history to reach an Asian Games final, 64 years after Maruti Mane, who won the silver medal in the same weight category at the 1962 Asian Games.
While Nakazato denied India the top step of the podium, Nitesh’s run to the final marked a significant breakthrough. He became the first Indian since the 1962 Asian Games to reach a Greco-Roman wrestling final at the continental showpiece.
The gold-medal bout, however, proved a step too far for the Indian, who struggled to impose himself against a Japanese opponent determined to dictate the exchanges from the outset.
Nakazato opened his account with two points after Nitesh was penalised for passivity midway through the opening period. The Indian then found himself in a defensive position as the Japanese looked to add to his advantage, but Nitesh showed considerable resistance to prevent the deficit from growing.
Trailing 0-2 at the break, Nitesh needed a significant turnaround in the remaining three minutes. Instead, Nakazato continued to control the tempo and denied the Indian the opportunity to establish an attacking rhythm.
The Japanese increased his advantage to 4-0 after bundling Nitesh over before briefly attempting to finish the contest by pinning him. Nitesh resisted and stayed in the bout, but Nakazato’s control left little room for a late Indian recovery.
The Japanese wrestler eventually saw out the contest to claim gold, leaving Nitesh with the silver.
The medal nonetheless caps a breakthrough campaign for the Indian, who arrived in Nagoya as a 2026 Asian Championships silver medallist and produced two emphatic victories before the final.
Nitesh began his knockout campaign by defeating Turkmenistan’s Amanberdi Agamammedov 7-1 in the quarterfinals. He followed that with an even more dominant performance against Mongolia’s Ganbaataryn Gankhuyag, storming to a 9-0 victory in the semi-final.
That win carried significance beyond qualification for the final. It ended India’s prolonged absence from a Greco-Roman final at the Asian Games and put Nitesh within one victory of a gold that has eluded the country since the 1962 edition.
(IANS)
