Nitesh Siwach’s bid for a Greco-Roman wrestling gold medal ended with silver on Thursday, but the 23-year-old still created history at the Asian Games in Nagoya.Nitesh went down 0-4 to Japan’s Yuri Nakazato in the men’s 97kg final at the Nagoya City Inae Sports Center.Nakazato started strongly and kept Nitesh under pressure throughout the bout. The Japanese wrestler opened the scoring by pushing the Indian out of the mat.Nitesh tried a two-on-one grip early in the contest but could not find a way through Nakazato’s defence. He was then put into the ground position for passivity, but defended well and did not allow the Japanese wrestler to get a firm grip for a scoring gut wrench.Nakazato took a 2-0 lead at the end of the first period and kept Nitesh in a headlock towards the end. He then disbalanced the Indian with a push and converted it into a takedown to extend his lead.Nitesh needed to attack with a minute left, but Nakazato’s defence remained strong. The Japanese wrestler held on for the gold, while Nitesh finished with silver.
Who is Nitesh Siwach?
A few years ago, Nitesh was unsure if he would return to wrestling.A knee injury during his training at Pratap Sports School forced him to undergo surgery. While recovering, he helped his father Anand with his milk business.Anand buys milk from his village and sells it from his shop or goes door-to-door in Panipat. Nitesh spent some time helping him deliver milk.But the wrestler in him was still there.“Nitesh suffered a knee injury while training at the Pratap Sports School. He had to undergo an operation. During rehabilitation, I asked him to help me in delivering milk,” Anand told Indian Express.“He did that for some time and returned to me asking whether he can continue wrestling. I always wanted him to be a wrestler as I could never pursue the sport despite my interest in it. That decision by him made him what he is today,” he added.That decision has now taken Nitesh to the Asian Games podium.
From cricket and kabaddi to wrestling
Wrestling was not Nitesh’s first sporting choice.He started with cricket, even though his father wanted him to take up wrestling. After joining Pratap Sports School in Kharkhoda, Nitesh became more interested in kabaddi and spent a lot of time playing the sport.But the wrestling environment at the school gradually changed his mind. He started taking up wrestling seriously and began making progress in the sport.Nitesh, who comes from Jagsi village in Haryana’s Sonipat district, soon started making his mark on the international stage.He won a silver medal at the 2019 Cadet Asian Championships and followed it with a bronze at the 2022 U23 World Championships.In 2025, he won bronze at the Senior Asian Championships. Earlier this year, he went one better by winning silver.Now, he has added another historic silver at the Asian Games — a medal that came after a journey that once took him from the wrestling mat to delivering milk door-to-door.