India’s Aman Sehrawat clinched the men’s 57kg freestyle wrestling gold at the Asian Games 2026 after defeating reigning world champion Han Chong-song of North Korea 11-7 in a dramatic final here on Saturday.
The victory made Aman the first Indian to win an Asian Games gold in the men’s 57kg freestyle category.
The final at the Nagoya City Inae Sports Center witnessed several momentum shifts. Aman led 6-1 in the second period before Han mounted a comeback with three two-point moves to take a 7-6 lead.
With time running out, Aman responded with a takedown and a roll to score four points and regain the lead. Han challenged the scoring, but the challenge was unsuccessful and he was penalised a point, giving Aman an 11-7 advantage.
The Indian then held off his opponent during the final 30 seconds to secure the gold.
Aman’s triumph came after Sujeet Kalkal had won gold in the men’s 65kg freestyle category. It marked the first time since 1978 that India had won two men’s freestyle wrestling gold medals at the Asian Games.
The gold adds to Aman’s growing international medal collection. He won a bronze at the Paris Olympics and another bronze at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games before upgrading his medal to gold in Aichi-Nagoya.
Aman entered the final after a series of commanding performances. He began his campaign with a 20-9 technical superiority win over Japan’s Yamato Ogawa and then defeated Kazakhstan’s Nurdanat Aitanov 12-1 in the quarterfinals.
In the semifinal against Tajikistan’s Aiaal Belolyubskii, Aman trailed 2-6 after the opening period but produced a remarkable turnaround in the second, scoring 12 points while conceding only two to win 14-8.
Earlier, Sujeet ended India’s wait for a wrestling gold at the Games with a dramatic 10-9 comeback victory over Tajikistan’s Abdulmazhid Kudiyev in the men’s 65kg final.
The 23-year-old Indian trailed 2-9 for most of the bout before staging a remarkable late rally, scoring eight unanswered points to overturn the deficit and secure India’s first wrestling gold of the Games.
(IANS Inputs)
