Asian Games: Sunil Kumar wins bronze, opens wrestling account

AICHI-NAGOYA Indian wrestler Sunil Kumar opened India’s wrestling medal account at the Asian Games 2026 by winning bronze in the men’s Greco-Roman 87kg category on Wednesday. Sunil defeated the Philippines’ Callum Johnston Roberts 9-0 by technical superiority, producing a dominant performance. Sunil controlled the bout from start to finish and did not allow Roberts to score a single point. He continued adding points throughout the contest before completing a comfortable victory. The result secured him the bronze medal and made him India’s first wrestling medallist at these Games. The medal also gave Sunil a significant distinction, as he became the first Indian to win two Greco-Roman medals at the Asian Games. His bronze added to India’s medal tally on a day when the country also secured gold medals in shooting and archery. Earlier, Neeru Dhanda and Kynan Chenai won gold in the mixed trap team shooting event, giving India its first-ever gold medal in the event. Their score of 34 also surpassed the Asian Games record of 30 set by Qatar earlier this year. Qatar won silver with 32, while China took bronze with 23. In archery, India’s women’s compound team of Jyothi Vennam, Chikitha Taniparthi and Prithika Pradeep defeated China 238-234 to win gold. The Indian team equalled South Korea’s world record of 238, set in 2014. Sunil’s bronze therefore marked India’s wrestling breakthrough at the Games, while the shooting and archery victories added two more gold medals to India’s strong medal-winning day in Aichi-Nagoya. His result came through a decisive victory rather than a close contest, with the Indian maintaining his advantage throughout the bout and completing the competition without conceding any points to his opponent at all.