Deepak Punia holds off Ganbaatar 2-1 to clinch Asian Games wrestling bronze

Deepak Punia received the bronze medal within the males’s 97kg freestyle wrestling occasion on the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya on Saturday, beating Mongolia’s Gankhuyag Ganbaatar 2-1 within the bronze medal bout.Punia took a 2-0 lead after scoring two factors within the opening interval. Ganbaatar managed to get one level within the second half, however Punia defended nicely to guard his lead and full the win.The bronze is Punia’s second Asian Games medal. He had received silver within the 86kg freestyle occasion on the Hangzhou 2022 Games.Punia’s medal got here on the identical day Aman Sehrawat received gold within the males’s 57kg freestyle occasion. Aman beat DPR Korea’s World Champion Han Chong Song 11-7 within the closing to say his second Asian Games medal, having received bronze in the identical class at Hangzhou 2022.The closing was intently fought, with each wrestlers staying stage earlier than Aman scored the primary factors to take the lead.Aman defended nicely towards Han’s repeated assaults and rapidly moved 6-1 forward simply after half-time with a sequence of well-timed attacking strikes. However, Han responded with a robust counterattack and scored six factors in fast succession to take a 7-6 lead.Aman then turned the bout round with an essential transfer that earned him 4 factors. He was awarded one other level after Han’s unsuccessful problem, placing Aman again in entrance.Punia’s bronze is India’s third medal in freestyle wrestling on the Asian Games 2026, after Sujeet Kalkal received gold within the 65kg class on Friday.