In the 2026 Asian Games final, Aman Sehrawat saw a 6-1 lead disappear. His opponent, the reigning world and Asian champion, came back point by point until the scoreboard read 7-6 against the Indian.
A couple of years ago, he admits, that might have broken him. But this time, he kept wrestling.
“In a bout, you can be moving ahead, and then the other wrestler takes a step forward,” he says, while speaking to Sports Now.
“We don’t have to take too much pressure. We just have to fight the way we are fighting. I had full faith that I would get one more score, and that’s what happened.”
WATCH FULL INTERVIEW: AMAN SEHRAWAT
That calmness turned bronze at the 2022 Asian Games into gold this year. It also further cemented the 23-year-old, already an Olympic bronze medallist at 57kg, as one of the most exciting and best talents in Indian wrestling.
‘I was very sad… I was very angry’
Ask Sehrawat what it took to close the gap between bronze and gold, and he goes straight to a defeat. In one final against a Japanese opponent, he gave away a heap of points in the first three minutes and never recovered.
“I was very sad about that. I was very angry,” he says.
The lesson was about the opening exchanges, holding his ground early and stop handing opponents a cushion.
“I had to work on that.”
One might expect a story about sports psychologists or a new fitness regime. Asked whether the change was about mental pressure or physical conditioning, he dismisses both.
“No, I worked on my technique only,” he says.
It’s a revealing answer from a wrestler, whose biggest wins have come in dramatic circumstances. Before the final in the Asian Games this year, there was a semifinal comeback. According to him, composure under pressure wasn’t always his strength.
“I wasn’t like that before,” he says.
“Now, no matter what the score is, I don’t want to puzzle myself. I want to wrestle the way I always wrestle.”
‘We wrestle differently against each one’
In the final, his opponent’s record might have tempted him to rethink his approach. But his plan was the same as for any bout: study the man in front of you.
“We know which wrestler doesn’t attack and which wrestler hits,” he says.
“So we wrestle differently against each one. We played accordingly.”
‘I should never give up in life’
The Asian Games gold carries extra weight because of the tough phase before that. After his Paris Olympic bronze, he went through a difficult stretch. In 2025, he missed the Asian Championships, his World C’ships campaign didn’t happen, and he struggled to stay within the 57kg limit. He calls that period an education phase.
“I learned that I should never give up in life,” he says.
“I should focus on the upcoming tournaments. I should get my weight right well in advance.”
The last point is a hard-won lesson in a weight-class sport, where the scale can end a campaign before the first whistle. If Sehrawat’s Asian Games was about holding his nerve on the mat, his preparation for it was about discipline off it.
Off the mat, he has found a backer in Aspect Sports. He captained their Pro Wrestling League side and is also the company’s first-ever brand ambassador.
“It has been about a year since we came together in PWL,” he says.
“Aspect Sports has supported us a lot. I am very happy to be with them.”
He thanks the company’s leadership for the role and insists it adds no pressure.
“Not at all. It’s been a pleasure.”
‘My goal is to win gold at the Olympics’
His main goal is to win gold at the Olympics.
“My goal is to win gold at the Olympics,” he says.
The next few months are about the Olympic qualifiers.
He also had a message for fans, who celebrated his victory at the Asian Games. “Keep supporting us,” he says.
“I will do my best.”
It is an understated line from an understated wrestler. But the Asian Games showed that something has changed. The Aman Sehrawat who once let a bad start unravel a bout now trusts that one more score is coming, and this time he was right.