Indian grappler Sunil Kumar secured the country's first medal at the ongoing 2025 Senior Asian Wrestling Championships in Amman, Jordan, clinching a bronze in the Greco-Roman 87kg category.
On Tuesday, the tournament witnessed intense competition across five Greco-Roman weight divisions.
Sunil displayed commendable resilience, defeating China’s Jiaxin Huang 3-1 to claim his place on the podium.
Earlier in the day, the Indian wrestler had dominated Tajikistan's Sukhrob AbdulKhaev with a commanding 10-1 victory. However, his campaign for the gold was halted in the semi-finals by Iran’s Yasin Ali Yazdi, who edged past him 3-1.
This latest achievement marks Sunil Kumar’s fifth senior medal at the Asian Wrestling Championships.
He previously won silver in 2019 and ended India’s 27-year wait for a Greco-Roman gold in 2020. He has also secured consecutive bronze medals in 2022 and 2023.
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At the Asian Games in Hangzhou last year, he etched his name in history by securing India’s first Asian Games Greco-Roman wrestling medal since 2010.
Other Indian Greco-Roman wrestlers competing on Tuesday included Nitin (55kg), Umesh (63kg), Sagar Thakran (77kg), and Prem (130kg). While Nitin, Umesh, and Prem bowed out in the qualification rounds, Sagar suffered a quarter-final loss via technical superiority against Jordan’s Amro Sadeh.
The remaining five Greco-Roman competitors – Sumit (60kg), Neeraj (67kg), Kuldeep Malak (72kg), Rahul (82kg), and Nitesh (97kg) – will be in action on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, India’s Paris 2024 Olympic-bound wrestlers, Reetika Hooda (women’s 76kg) and Antim Panghal (women’s 53kg), are set to compete on Thursday and Friday, respectively.
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