Six not enough: Brij Bhushan wants more medals, says wrestlers deserve more
Former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh has said India should not be satisfied with its wrestling medal haul at the 2026 Asian Games, setting his sights on a bigger return at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.
Speaking at the felicitation ceremony for India’s Asian Games medal-winning wrestlers in New Delhi on Friday, October 9, Singh said he had expected the contingent to win at least eight medals at the continental event in Aichi-Nagoya.
“I’m not happy with Asian Games performance. We got six but I expected 8,” Singh said.
“Our wrestlers have two years. We shouldn’t be happy with single-digit medal numbers.”
India sent 15 wrestlers to the Asian Games and returned with six medals, including two golds. Aman Sehrawat and Sujeet Kalkal won gold, while Antim Panghal and Nitesh Siwach secured silver. Deepak Punia and Sunil Kumar completed the tally with bronze medals.
“Our wrestlers are expected to get a medal every event they go,” Singh added, urging the wrestling fraternity to raise its ambitions ahead of the 2028 Olympics.
Aman Sehrawat was India’s lone wrestling medallist at the Paris 2024 Olympics, winning bronze in the men’s freestyle 57kg category after Vinesh Phogat was disqualified from the women’s 50kg final for being 100 grams overweight.
WRESTLERS SHOULDN’T GO EMPTY-HANDED: BRIJ BHUSHAN
The event in Delhi also marked the launch of the sixth season of the Pro Wrestling League (PWL), which will be held from January 9 to 26, 2027, in New Delhi. The six wrestlers were felicitated with special blazers and kits.
The ceremony also brought the question of financial rewards for the medallists into focus. While the league has stressed its commitment to investing in grassroots wrestling, Singh said the athletes who bring glory to the country and the coaches who guide them deserved greater recognition from the federation.
“The wrestlers who have brought glory to the nation shouldn’t go empty-handed. The coaches should also be recognised,” he said.
Singh, who no longer heads the WFI, distanced himself from the responsibility of implementing such rewards but made it clear where he believed the onus lay.
“I’m a ghost now. Can’t do anything. But WFI should do it,” he said.
His presence as the guest of honour at the event underlined his continued visibility in Indian wrestling despite stepping aside from the federation’s leadership amid allegations of sexual harassment by women wrestlers.
The PWL’s return provides another platform for Indian wrestlers to compete alongside international talent. The upcoming season will feature 86 grapplers, including 34 international medallists, across five men’s and four women’s Olympic weight categories. Japanese Olympic champion Yui Susaki is among the international stars expected to compete.
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