Antim Panghal says she is a little disappointed to have missed out on gold but proud to bring home a silver medal for India from the women’s 53kg freestyle wrestling event at the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.
She also spoke about the setbacks she has had to work through to reach the podium.
“Of course, I’m a little disappointed that I couldn’t win gold, but I’m still very proud to have won a silver medal for India at the Asian Games,” Antim said. “Every athlete dreams of winning a medal for the country, and to be able to do that on this stage means a lot to me.”
“Difficult days” behind the medal
Antim said the medal came after a long stretch of hard work and some tough moments.
“There have been so many sacrifices, difficult days and moments when things have not gone my way, but I kept believing in myself and working hard,” she said.
She thanked the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), the Inspire Institute of Sport (IIS) and Parth Jindal for their backing. “I’m especially thankful to WFI, Inspire Institute of Sport and Parth Jindal sir who has supported me, guided me and helped me improve throughout this journey,” she said.
Looking ahead
Antim said she wants to use the experience to improve.
“I’ll take this experience, learn from it and keep working hard to come back stronger,” she said.
India finished the Games fourth in the medals table with 85 medals.
