Asian Games 2026: Tough draws test Sujeet, Antim and Aman in Nagoya
In Nagoya on September 29, 2026, India's Sujeet Kalkal, Antim Panghal and Aman Sehrawat were handed challenging draws for the wrestling competition at the Asian Games 2026. All three are among the leading names in India's delegation as the tournament gets under way.
Sujeet arrives in Nagoya as one of India's most in-form freestyle wrestlers after a breakthrough 2026 that included the Under-23 world title, the Asian Championships and gold medals at the Zagreb Open and the Muhamet Malo Ranking Series. The draw, however, places him in a demanding half with potential match-ups that threaten his path to gold.
Sujeet, 23, is in the same half as Japan's Olympic champion Kotaro Kiyooka and could meet Iran's Abbas Ebrahimzadeh in the quarterfinals before a possible semifinal against Kiyooka. Kiyooka defeated Rahman Amouzad in the Paris Olympic final, and Amouzad — the world No. 1 — is not competing at the Asian Games, making a Sujeet–Kiyooka meeting one of the competition's marquee possibilities; Kiyooka will also benefit from competing at home while Sujeet's speed and attacking style face a stern test.
Antim Panghal, 22, contests the 53kg category as a Hangzhou Asian Games bronze medallist and a two-time World Championships medallist, with six wins and two losses in senior United World Wrestling events this season. Her draw places her in the same half as China's Zhang Jin, a pairing that could produce a semifinal between the two after their two prior encounters, both won by Antim in close contests. Japan's Moe Kiyooka and North Korea's Choe Hyo Gyong occupy the opposite half, and Antim secured selection for the Indian team by beating Meenakshi Goyat in the national trials.
Aman Sehrawat returns to the Asian Games as an Olympic bronze medallist, having taken bronze at the Paris Olympics in 2024 at 57kg and becoming India's youngest Olympic medallist at the age of 21 years and 24 days. His 57kg bracket opens with the possibility of facing Uzbekistan's Gulomjon Abdullaev, an Olympic bronze medallist, or Japan's Yamato Ogawa in the first round, with a quarterfinal against Kazakhstan's Nurdanat Aitanov and a potential semifinal against Iran's Ali Momeni if he progresses. The draw therefore makes his opening bout particularly significant.
The broader Indian freestyle and women's squads include further notable draws: Sagar Jaglan meets reigning Asian champion Tulga Tumur Ochir of Mongolia at 74kg, Deepak Punia is at 97kg with an opening against China's Zhou Junpeng and is placed away from Japan's Arash Yoshida and Iran's Amirali Azarpira until a possible final, and Rajat Ruhal competes at 125kg. In the women's team, Nisha Dahiya starts against North Korea's Pak Sol Gum in 68kg — the same opponent involved in the injury that ended Nisha's Paris Olympic quarterfinal — while Manisha Bhanwala, Mansi Ahlawat, Priya Malik and debutant Dipanshi complete the unit; Nisha's bracket also includes China's Jia Long, Japan's Ami Ishii, Kazakhstan's Zhamila Bakbergenova and Kyrgyzstan's Meerim Zhumanazarova.
Dipanshi faces former world and Olympic champion Yui Susaki of Japan at 50kg, and Susaki has lost only one bout in her career — against India's Vinesh Phogat at the Paris Olympics. In Greco-Roman, Hangzhou bronze medallist Sunil Kumar could meet Japan's Taizo Yoshida in a potential semifinal, while Nitesh Siwach's path may include Turkmenistan's Amanberdi Agamammedov and Mongolia's Gankhuyag Ganbaatar.
India won six wrestling medals — one silver and five bronze — at the 2022 Asian Games, with Deepak Punia taking the silver. The wrestling programme in Nagoya will be conducted in a one-day format for each weight category, meaning the qualification rounds, semifinals and medal bouts will all be held on the same day.