Indian wrestlers Antim Panghal and Manisha Bhanwala advanced to the quarterfinals, while Deepak Punia progressed to the semifinals at the Asian Games 2026 on Saturday, keeping India’s wrestling campaign on course.
Antim made a strong start to her women’s 53kg campaign, defeating Kazakhstan’s Shugyla Omirbek 9-0 in the pre-quarterfinals to book her place in the last eight.
Manisha also produced a dominant performance in the women’s 57kg category, defeating South Korea’s Kwon Youngjin 8-0 by fall in her pre-quarterfinal bout. She will face Japan’s Akari Fujinami in the quarterfinals.
In the men’s freestyle 97kg category, Deepak defeated China’s Zhou Junpeng 10-2 by technical superiority in the pre-quarterfinals. He led 6-2 after the opening period before completing the victory with a 6-0 second period.
The Indian subsequently advanced to the semifinals after his scheduled quarterfinal opponent, Hong Kong China’s Li Vincent, forfeited the bout.
Sagar Jaglan also advanced to the quarterfinals in the men’s freestyle 74kg category after defeating Mongolia’s Tulga Tumur-Ochir 8-1 in the pre-quarterfinals.
In other action, India’s women’s rugby sevens team defeated Singapore 22-5 in their first classification match and will face Kazakhstan in their next 5th-8th place encounter.
India’s campaign in taekwondo ended without a victory, with Kashish Malik and Jyoti Yadav suffering opening-round defeats. Kashish lost 0-2 to reigning Olympic champion Kim Yujin of South Korea in the women’s 57kg round of 16, while Jyoti was beaten 0-2 by Thailand’s Kannaluck Chuenchooklin in the women’s 67kg round of 16.
Earlier in the day, 17-year-old Kumkum Mohod won gold in the women’s individual recurve archery event, defeating South Korea’s Oh Yejin in a shoot-off after the final was tied 5-5.
Golf also remained a medal prospect for India, with Pranavi Urs regaining the lead in the women’s individual stroke play. She moved to 15-under after a birdie on the 13th hole and held a one-stroke advantage over China’s Yin Ruoning with five holes remaining.
India’s medal tally stood at 77, comprising 17 gold, 25 silver and 35 bronze medals, at the time of writing.
(ANI Inputs)
