New Delhi: Indian wrestler Aman Sehrawat stunned reigning world champion Han Chong Song of North Korea to clinch a gold medal in the men’s 57kg category for India at the recently concluded Asian Games, adding to his Hangzhou 2023 bronze.
Aman defeated the North Korean grappler 11-7 after making a comeback in the match to become the first Indian to win the yellow metal in the men’s 57kg freestyle wrestling at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya.
The Indian grappler, who is also the bronze winner in Paris Olympics, revealed an anecdote before the final that led him to glory in Aichi-Nagoya. In an interaction with IANS, the 23-year-old revealed that his coach had advised him not to watch his opponent’s video or any other wrestler’s video on mobile for preparation and rather trust in his own skill and implement it on the day of the final.
“My coach told me to fight my own wrestling just like you used to do in other matches. Don’t play according to the opponent’s wrestling style. I was told not to watch anyone’s video on the phone. I was advised to fight in my own way and that I would bring the gold medal. So that’s what happened,” Aman told IANS.
He upgraded his 2022 Asian Games bronze to gold and now wants to turn the bronze of his Paris Olympics to a gold. “I consider this a very proud moment (raising the national flag after winning gold). Now my target remains to feel this moment in the Olympics,” he added.
Aman was 6-1 up in the final against Han, but the North Korean world champion implemented moves to make it 7-6 in his favour, with the Indian trailing with less than a minute to go for the match to end.
However, Aman put on a comeback in the later part of the match to clinch the game 11-7. “It happens a lot in wrestling. This is not the first time that this happened. I was running behind with one minute left. But I was confident that I could attack and score points in the end. I was looking not to give points any further,” he added.
(IANS)
