U23 Asian Championships: India secure five Greco-Roman medals; Suraj and Sagar win silver
New Delhi, May 23
India made an impressive start to its Greco-Roman campaign at the U23 Asian Championships by securing five medals on the opening day of the competition at the Tien Son Sport Centre in Da Nang, Vietnam, on Saturday.
Suraj Singh and Sagar Singh led the charge with silver medals, while Kumar Sachin, Rohit and Hardeep added to the tally with bronze medals in their respective weight categories, according to a release.
Suraj Singh impressed in the 60kg category with a solid run to the final before going down 0-4 against Kazakhstan's Aibek Aitbekov in the gold medal bout to finish with silver.
In the 67kg category, Sagar Singh also produced a commendable performance throughout the tournament. However, he suffered a 0-9 defeat by technical superiority against Uzbekistan's Aytjan Khalmakhanov in the final and settled for the silver medal.
Kumar Sachin added a bronze medal in the 77kg category despite going down 3-10 against Kazakhstan's Alikhan Dursunov, while Rohit narrowly missed out after suffering a hard-fought 3-5 defeat against Uzbekistan's Bekhruz Barnoev in the 97kg division. Hardeep also fell short in the 130kg bout, going down 0-4 against Kazakhstan's Jokhar Uzarov.
Vinit (72kg) and Amit Gope (82kg) bowed out after suffering defeats by technical superiority against their respective opponents, with Vinit going down 6-9 against Uzbekistan's Shakhzod Kuchkorov and Amit losing 0-10 to Tajikistan's Muhammad Sultanzoda.
"It is an encouraging performance by our Greco-Roman wrestlers to finish the opening day with five medals. The wrestlers showed great determination and discipline on the mat, and this performance reflects the steady progress Indian Greco-Roman wrestling has been making at the continental level. I congratulate all the medal winners and wish the remaining wrestlers the very best for the upcoming bouts," said Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) President Sanjay Singh.
India had won three medals in the U23 Greco-Roman category at the previous edition of the U23 and U17 Asian Wrestling Championships held in Vietnam, including a gold medal by Sumit (63kg) and bronze medals by Ankit Gulia (72kg) and Nitesh (97kg).
The country had also secured five medals in Greco-Roman wrestling at the 2026 Asian Wrestling Championships in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, last month, marking India's best performance in the category at the continental senior event in the last five years.
On Sunday, India's Greco-Roman campaign will continue with Neeraj taking the mat in the 55kg category qualification bout while Sumit (63kg) and Rohit Bura (87kg) will also be in action, aiming for podium finishes.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Good performance but we need to work on converting silvers to golds. The technical superiority losses in the finals show there's still a gap with the top wrestlers from Central Asia. I hope WFI provides better training and exposure for these young athletes. Still, proud of our boys! 💪
This is fantastic! Five medals is the best we've done in Greco-Roman at U23 level. Hope Sumit and Neeraj add more tomorrow. Indian wrestling is on the rise across all styles. Kudos to the entire contingent and coaching staff!
Impressive consistency from India in Greco-Roman. They won three medals last year and now five. The progress is clear. Looking forward to seeing these wrestlers at the senior level in coming years.
Superb effort from our young grapplers! 🏆 Suraj and Sagar might have lost finals but reaching there itself is commendable. The Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan wrestlers are world-class even at this age. With more exposure to international competitions, our boys can close that gap. Proud moment for Indian sports!
Good results from the Indian team. The 0-9 and 0-4 scorelines in the finals show there's work to be done technically, but five medals is a strong haul. Hopefully the wrestlers take these experiences and come back stronger next time.
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