Nitesh Siwach Ends India's 64-Year Wait for a Greco-Roman Asian Games Final, Takes 97kg Silver

India's Greco-Roman wrestlers have spent six decades on the margins of the Asian Games. On Thursday, Nitesh Siwach moved the discipline back toward the centre. The 23-year-old from Haryana reached the men's 97kg final at the Aichi-Nagoya Games and, although he lost the gold-medal bout 4-0 to home favourite Yuri Nakazato, his silver made him the first Indian Greco-Roman wrestler to contest an Asiad final since 1962.

That last finalist was Maruti Mane, who also won silver in the heavyweight Greco-Roman category at the Jakarta Games. India's only Greco-Roman golds at the event came at those same 1962 Games, so the wait for a title goes on.

How the final unfolded

Nakazato controlled the bout from the first period. Siwach was penalised for passivity early, giving the Japanese wrestler a 2-0 lead, and although the Indian defended well enough to stop the gap growing before the break, he could not find an opening to score. Nakazato then added two more points in the second period with a well-timed throw, and spent the closing minutes pressing for a fall. Siwach held his position to avoid being pinned but never got close to turning the bout around.

The final was a contrast to his route there. Siwach beat Turkmenistan's Amanberdi Agamammedov 7-1 in the quarter-final and then shut out Mongolia's Gankhuyag Ganbaatar 9-0 in the semi-final, results that underlined why he arrived in Japan as a medal contender after winning silver at the Asian Championships earlier this year.

What he said afterwards

Siwach spoke of the pressure of competing in a weight class where India had never won an Asian Games medal, and said his father had told him there was no turning back once he started down this path. He credited the Inspire Institute of Sport for backing him on travel, nutrition and physiotherapy through his build-up.

A mixed day on the mat

Siwach was not India's only Greco-Roman medallist on Thursday. Sunil Kumar won bronze at 87kg by beating the Philippines' Callum Johnston Roberts, his second straight Asian Games bronze. Sumit Dalal and Aman Baroniya both went out in the quarter-finals of their categories. In women's freestyle, Mansi Ahlawat lost her 62kg bronze-medal bout 5-2 to Mongolia's Altjin Togtokh after an earlier semi-final defeat to Japan's Nonoka Ozaki.

Why this silver matters

Indian wrestling's Asian Games success has come overwhelmingly from freestyle. Greco-Roman, where only upper-body holds are allowed, has had far less depth, coaching investment and international exposure. A finalist in one of its heavier categories, backed by a private high-performance programme, suggests that gap is beginning to narrow. With Siwach only 23, the next target is obvious: the gold that has eluded Indian Greco-Roman wrestlers since 1962.

Siwach's medal was one of four for India on day 12, alongside the men's skiff sailing silver for Manu Francis and Prince Noble, a women's squash team bronze and a compound archery individual bronze for Ganesh Mani Ratnam Thirumuru.

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