March 27, 2025: Nitesh secured a bronze medal for India in the ongoing Asian Wrestling Championships 2025 held in Amman, Jordan, adding to the country’s medal tally in the competition.
The 22-year-old grappler shone in the Greco-Roman 97kg weight division. Nitesh started his campaign strong by beating Kazakhstan’s Ilyas Guchigov 9-0 via technical superiority in his opening match, advancing to the semi-finals. However, his momentum was halted when he was defeated 9-0 by the reigning Olympic champion, Mohammad Hadi Saravi from Iran.
Despite the setback, Nitesh bounced back and dominated the bronze medal clash, where he defeated Turkmenistan’s Amanberdi Agamammedov with the same scoreline of 9-0 (VSU), securing India’s second medal in the competition. Earlier, Sunil Kumar also claimed a bronze in the Greco-Roman 87kg weight division.
On Tuesday, Sunil Kumar showed exceptional skill by overcoming China’s Jiaxin Huang 3-1 to win his bronze medal. Despite a strong showing, he fell short in the semi-finals against Iran’s Yasin Ali Yazdi. Mohammad Hadi Saravi went on to defeat Japan’s Yuri Nakazato in the 97kg final, claiming the gold medal.
In the remaining Greco-Roman weight categories, India’s Sumit (60kg), Neeraj (67kg), Kuldeep Malak (72kg), and Rahul (82kg) were unable to secure medals. Neeraj, who was aiming for a podium finish, fought valiantly in the bronze medal match but lost 5-0 to Japan’s Katsuaki Endo after progressing through the repechage round.
The competition continues with India’s Paris 2024 Olympians, Reetika Hooda and Antim Panghal, set to take the mat later in the week.