Nitesh Siwach takes Greco-Roman 97kg silver at Asian Games

Nitesh Siwach, 23, won the silver medal in the men's 97kg Greco-Roman event at the Asian Games after losing 0-4 to Japan's Yuri Nakazato in the final on Thursday.

Siwach's path to the podium followed a lengthy hiatus from the sport after a knee operation at 15. For two years, from 2017 to 2019, he helped his father sell milk in Panipat, waking at 5am and returning at 5pm without a regular day off; “My village is 40 km from Panipat. I used to wake up at 5 a.m. and come back home at 5 p.m. I sold milk for two years. I didn't have a day off,” he said.

He persuaded his family to allow a brief return to wrestling, saying, “I thought of requesting my family. I asked for six months, and then I started wrestling again.” Siwach resumed training at Pratap School in Kharkhoda under teachers Om Prakash Dahiya and Sandeep, who, he said, “gave me a lot of attention. They motivated me to become a world champion one day.” He also explained his switch in style: “After the knee operation, I started playing in Greco-Roman. After the injury, I never thought of going to 'Dangal'. I started playing Greco-Roman on the mat.”

Siwach entered the Asian Games at the quarterfinal stage and defeated Turkmenistan's Amanberdi Agamammedov 7-1. He then beat Mongolia's Gankhuyang Ganbaatar 9-0 by technical superiority in the first three-minute period in the semifinal to move within one bout of the title.

In the gold-medal match Nakazato opened the scoring after Siwach attempted a two-on-one grip and was pushed out, and Siwach was put in the ground position for passivity; he defended a gut wrench but trailed 2-0 after the first period. Nakazato extended the lead to 4-0 in the second period after disbalancing Siwach and converting that into a takedown, and Siwach's late attack in the final minute was repelled as the Japanese wrestler protected his margin.

The Asian Games silver is the biggest medal of Siwach's career; he previously won bronze at the 2022 U23 World Championships and another bronze at the 2025 Asian Championships. His silver ended a 64-year wait for an Indian Greco-Roman silver at the Asian Games, and the report notes India last won Greco-Roman gold at the Games in 1962 when Malwa Singh won the 52kg title and Ganpat Andalkar took the +97kg gold.

Away from competition, Siwach remains attached to foods from his upbringing, including homemade paneer, butter, churma and milk. Reflecting on the result and what comes next he said, “I am very happy that I made it to the final. I could have done better, but I am still lacking. I will now focus on the World Championships and 2028 Olympic qualifiers next year,” and added, “I will request the Pro Wrestling League organisers to include Greco-Roman.”