Asian Wrestling Championships 2025: Sunil Kumar Kicks Off India’s Campaign with Greco-Roman Bronze
Patiala, 26 March (Sports Desk)
Sunil Kumar gave India its first medal at the Asian Wrestling Championships 2025, securing a bronze in the Greco-Roman 87kg category on Tuesday in Amman, Jordan. This marks the 25-year-old wrestler’s fifth medal—and third bronze—at the prestigious continental event.
Kumar’s journey began with a commanding 10-1 win over Tajikistan’s Sukhrob Abdulkhaev in the quarter-finals. However, he faced a setback in the semi-finals, falling 3-1 to Iran’s Yasin Ali Yazdi. Undeterred, the Indian grappler bounced back in the bronze-medal match, defeating China’s Jiaxin Huang by the same 3-1 scoreline to claim his spot on the podium.
This latest achievement adds to Sunil Kumar’s impressive record at the Asian Championships. He previously won silver in 2019 and made history in 2020 by clinching India’s first Greco-Roman gold in 27 years. He followed that up with consecutive bronze medals in 2022 and 2023. Beyond the Asian Championships, Kumar also ended a 13-year drought for India in Greco-Roman wrestling at the Asian Games, winning a bronze at Hangzhou 2023—the first since Ravinder Singh and Sunil Kumar Rana’s medals at Guangzhou 2010.
While Sunil Kumar shone, the other four Indian Greco-Roman wrestlers in action on Tuesday—Nitin (55kg), Umesh (63kg), Sagar Thakran (77kg), and Prem (130kg)—failed to reach the podium. Nitin, Umesh, and Prem were eliminated in their qualification rounds, while Sagar Thakran fell to Jordan’s Amro Sadeh via technical superiority in the quarter-finals.
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India’s Greco-Roman contingent will look to rebound on Wednesday, with Sumit (60kg), Neeraj (67kg), Kuldeep Malak (72kg), Rahul (82kg), and Nitesh (97kg) set to compete. Meanwhile, anticipation builds for India’s Paris 2024 Olympians, Reetika Hooda (women’s 76kg) and Antim Panghal (women’s 53kg), who will take the mat on Thursday and Friday, respectively.
