New Delhi, Oct 3 (IANS) President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday congratulated Aman Sehrawat and Deepak Punia on their medal-winning performances in wrestling at the Asian Games 2026, praising their achievements for inspiring the next generation of Indian wrestlers.
Congratulating Aman on his gold medal in the men’s freestyle 57 kg category. The president said the Indian wrestler had “fought your way to the top” and claimed the highest honour in his category.
“Heartiest congratulations to you, Aman Sehrawat, on winning the Gold Medal in the Men’s Freestyle 57 kg category in Wrestling at the Asian Games 2026. You have fought your way to the top and claimed the highest honour in your category. Your golden performance will inspire many young wrestlers across the country to pursue excellence,” President Murmu posted on X.
Aman defeated reigning world champion Han Chong-song of North Korea 11-7 in a thrilling final to become the first Indian to win an Asian Games gold in the men’s 57 kg freestyle category.
The 23-year-old had earlier produced a strong comeback in the semifinal, recovering from a 2-6 deficit against Tajikistan’s Aiaal Belolyubskii to win 14-8. He had begun his campaign with a 20-9 technical superiority victory over Japan’s Yamato Ogawa before beating Kazakhstan’s Nurdanat Aitanov 12-1 in the quarterfinals.
President Murmu also congratulated Deepak Punia after the Indian wrestler secured bronze in the men’s freestyle 97 kg category.
“Congratulations to Deepak Punia on securing the Bronze Medal in the Men’s 97 kg Freestyle Wrestling event at the Asian Games 2026. Your spectacular performance has brought India a medal in this weight category after six decades. May this historic achievement inspire a new generation of wrestlers to dream big and strive for excellence,” she posted.
Deepak defeated Mongolia’s Gankhuyag Ganbaatar in the bronze-medal bout after suffering a narrow 8-9 defeat to Uzbekistan’s Sherzod Poyonov in the semifinal.
He had earlier beaten China’s Zhou Junpeng 12-2 before advancing to the quarterfinals via forfeit. The bronze is Deepak’s second Asian Games medal after he won silver in the men’s 86 kg category at the 2023 Hangzhou Games.
His medal also ended a six-decade wait for India in the men’s freestyle 97 kg category. Maruti Mane had won gold in the category at the 1962 Asian Games, while Ganpat Andalkar won silver in the same edition. Bishwanath Singh and Bhim Singh later won silver and bronze, respectively, in 1966.
—IANS
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