Antim Panghal loses 1-9 to Moe Kiyooka to take silver in women’s 53kg at Asian Games 2026

India’s Antim Panghal won the silver medal in the women’s freestyle 53kg event at the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, on Saturday, October 3, falling 1-9 to Japan’s Moe Kiyooka in the final at Nagoya City Inae Sports Center. The 22-year-old from Bhagana finished second in the weight class.

Panghal added the Aichi-Nagoya silver to the bronze she earned at Hangzhou 2022, becoming only the second Indian female wrestler after Vinesh Phogat to win two Asian Games medals. Her silver was the sixth wrestling medal for India at these Games and was the first medal by an Indian female wrestler at Aichi-Nagoya.

The gold-medal bout began cautiously, but Kiyooka — a former World Championships gold medallist and listed as world No. 19 in the report — struck first and built a substantial lead. As the clock wound down, Antim was forced to press forward and conceded multiple scores, the match ending 1-9 in favour of the Japanese wrestler.

Panghal reached the final following a string of decisive victories: she beat Kazakhstan’s Shugyla Omirbek 9-0 in her opening match, defeated Uzbekistan’s Sakibjamal Esbosynova 8-0, and then overcame China’s Zhang Jin, the Asian Championships gold medallist, 6-1 to secure her place in the gold medal contest.

The silver at Aichi-Nagoya is Panghal’s second Asian Games podium finish, pairing with her bronze from Hangzhou 2022 to give her two continental multi-sport medals. Her campaign at the 20th Asian Games was noted for the commanding scorelines that took her to the final.

India’s wrestling contingent completed its Aichi-Nagoya campaign with six medals in total, comprising two gold, two silver and two bronze. The Games also saw Aman Sehrawat clinch gold in the men’s freestyle 57kg event, as reported alongside Panghal’s result.

With Panghal’s silver, India’s wrestling tally at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games stood at six medals — two gold, two silver and two bronze.