Nitesh ends 64-year wait, eyes historic Greco-Roman gold at Asian Games

Nagoya, Oct 1 (UNI) Indian wrestler Nitesh Kumar stormed into the men's 97kg Greco-Roman final at the Asian Games here on Thursday, ending a 64-year wait for an Indian finalist in the discipline and moving within one victory of a historic gold medal.

Nitesh produced a commanding 9-0 technical-superiority victory over Mongolia's Gankhuyag Ganbaatar in the semi-final, wrapping up the contest without conceding a point. The Indian wrestler had earlier defeated Turkmenistan's Amanberdi Agammamedov 7-1 in the quarter-finals to advance to the last four. Nitesh's final berth is particularly significant for Indian Greco-Roman wrestling.

India last had a finalist in the discipline at the 1962 Asian Games in Jakarta, while the country's last Greco-Roman gold at the Games also came in 1962. The 97kg wrestler has therefore put himself within touching distance of a milestone that has eluded Indian Greco-Roman wrestlers for more than six decades.

Nitesh's run in Aichi-Nagoya has been marked by two emphatic victories. He controlled his quarter-final against Agammamedov from the outset before completing a 7-1 victory. Against Ganbaatar, he was even more dominant, opening up a substantial lead and forcing the referee to stop the contest on technical superiority. The Mongolian was a bronze medallist at the 2023 Asian Games, making Nitesh's commanding semi-final performance all the more notable.

Nitesh had also won a silver medal at the Asian Championships earlier this year and entered the Asian Games as one of India's leading medal hopes in Greco-Roman wrestling. He will now bid for gold in the final and a place alongside Ganpat Andalkar, India's only previous Asian Games Greco-Roman gold medallist. India's campaign in Greco-Roman wrestling had mixed fortunes on Thursday. Sumit Dalal was knocked out in the 60kg quarter-finals after his bout against Iran's Sajjad Abbaspourragani ended 1-1, with the Iranian advancing on the applicable points criteria.

Aman Sehrawat also suffered a quarter-final defeat in the 77kg category, going down 0-9 to Qatar's reigning Asian champion Shahin Badaghimofrad. In the women's 62kg category, Mansi Ahlawat remained in medal contention despite losing 0-6 to Japan's Nonoka Ozaki in the semi-finals. She will fight for bronze. For Nitesh, however, the focus is now firmly on the gold-medal bout, where victory would bring India its first Asian Games Greco-Roman wrestling gold in 64 years.

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