Sunil Kumar Clinches Bronze, Opens India’s Medal Account At 2025 Asian Wrestling Championships

March 26, 2025: Sunil Kumar opened India’s medal account in the ongoing 2025 Senior Asian Championship in Amman, Jordan, securing a bronze in the 87 kg Greco-Roman wrestling category.

On Tuesday, the competition witnessed fierce action across five weight categories in Greco-Roman wrestling. Sunil Kumar delivered an impressive performance, defeating China’s Jiaxin Huang 3-1 to claim the bronze. Earlier in the tournament, Sunil showcased his dominance by defeating Tajikistan’s Sukhrob AbdulKhaev with a commanding 10-1 victory. However, his gold medal hopes were dashed in the semifinals when he fell short against Iran’s Yasin Ali Yazdi, who claimed a 3-1 win.

Despite the loss in the semifinals, Sunil’s bronze medal marked a significant milestone in his career, making it his fifth senior medal at the Asian Wrestling Championships. He had previously secured a silver in 2019 and a gold in 2020, ending India’s 27-year-long wait for a Greco-Roman gold at the Asian Championships. Sunil also bagged consecutive bronze medals in 2022 and 2023, and at the Asian Games in Hangzhou 2023, he earned India’s first-ever Asian Games medal in Greco-Roman wrestling since 2010.

While Sunil Kumar added to India’s medal tally, the remaining four Indian Greco-Roman wrestlers—Nitin (55kg), Umesh (63kg), Sagar Thakran (77kg), and Prem (130kg)—failed to advance past their respective qualification rounds. Sagar, in particular, suffered a heartbreaking loss via technical superiority against Jordan’s Amro Sadeh in the quarter-finals.

The next set of Indian wrestlers, Sumit (60kg), Neeraj (67kg), Kuldeep Malak (72kg), Rahul (82kg), and Nitesh (97kg), will take to the mat on Wednesday, while India’s Paris 2024 Olympians, Reetika Hooda (women’s 76kg) and Antim Panghal (women’s 53kg), are expected to compete later in the week.