Daijiworld Media Network - Nagoya

Nagoya, Sep 30: Indian wrestler Sunil Kumar clinched the bronze medal in the men’s 87kg Greco-Roman wrestling event at the Asian Games 2026 after defeating the Philippines’ Callum Johnston Roberts 9-0 by technical superiority here on Wednesday.

The victory saw Sunil retain the bronze he won in the same category at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games and make history as the first Indian wrestler to win two Greco-Roman wrestling medals at the Asian Games.

The 27-year-old needed just one round to settle the bronze-medal contest at the Nagoya City Inae Sports Center.

Sunil made an aggressive start, throwing Roberts twice in the opening exchanges to collect four points. A further point awarded for passivity gave the Indian a 5-0 lead within the first 90 seconds.

The Indian continued to dominate and capitalised on another passivity sequence to take his opponent down, extending the lead to 7-0.

Roberts struggled to counter Sunil’s relentless attacks, and the Indian soon completed another scoring move to add two more points and reach the nine-point margin required for technical superiority.

The contest was consequently stopped, with Sunil securing a convincing 9-0 victory and another Asian Games bronze.

The medal adds to an already impressive international record that includes six Asian Championships medals. His second successive Asian Games bronze also makes him the first Indian wrestler to win multiple Greco-Roman wrestling medals at the continental Games.

Sunil’s latest podium finish further strengthens India’s medal record in Greco-Roman wrestling at the Asian Games.