Aman Sehrawat defeats world champion to win Asian Games wrestling gold

India’s Aman Sehrawat won the Asian Games men’s 57kg wrestling gold medal on Saturday after defeating North Korea’s reigning world champion Chong Song Han 11-7 in the final. Sehrawat, an Olympic bronze medallist, had won bronze at the 2023 Hangzhou Games. He took an early 4-1 lead after being placed on the activity clock and then scoring a takedown.

A further attack on Han’s left leg extended the Indian’s advantage to 6-1. Han received treatment on his left knee but returned strongly after the restart, producing three consecutive scoring moves to take a 7-6 lead. Sehrawat stayed composed and regained control with two takedowns, moving 10-7 ahead.

Han challenged the final point awarded to the Indian, but the appeal failed, confirming Sehrawat’s 11-7 victory. The Indian had earlier beaten Tajikistan’s Aiaal Belolyubskii 14-8 in the semifinal. He began the tournament with a 20-9 technical-superiority win over Japan’s Yamato Ogawa and then defeated Kazakhstan’s Nurdanat Aitanov in the quarterfinal.

The gold adds to Sehrawat’s Olympic bronze, Asian Championships gold and U23 World Championships gold. His victory came a day after Sujeet Kalkal won the men’s 65kg title, contributing to India’s strong wrestling performance at the Games. Sehrawat became India’s youngest individual Olympic medallist when he won bronze at the Paris Games in 2024.

His path has also included injuries and illness, including disqualification from the 2025 World Championships after failing to make the 57kg weight. He has said his larger ambition is to convert his Olympic bronze into gold.