Nitesh Siwach Asian Games Silver: A milkman’s son who never gave up wrestling

At 15, Nitesh Siwach was a far cry from the Asian Games limelight. A knee surgery forced him to quit wrestling and instead of spending his days on the mat, he helped his father sell milk in Panipat, Haryana.

For two years, from 2017 to 2019, Nitesh woke up at 5 am and returned home at 5 pm. His village, Jagsi, is about 40 km from Panipat and the teenager had little time for anything beyond a demanding routine. Still, wrestling remained unfinished business.

Five years after returning to the sport, the 23-year-old became an Asian Games silver medalist in the men’s 97kg Greco-Roman style.

Nitesh lost 0-4 to Japan’s Yuri Nakazato in Thursday’s final. The gold eluded him, but the silver marked India’s first Greco-Roman silver at the Asian Games since 1962.

THE MILK ROAD

Nitesh’s life as a milk vendor began after a knee surgery. When he was alone at home, his father asked him to come to Panipat and help with the family business.

“My father is a milkman. I had a knee operation when I was 15. I started working as a milkman with my father. I used to sell milk every day,” said Nitesh.

The routine was demanding. He left home at 5 am, traveled to Panipat and returned at 5 pm. There was no regular day off and he continued to work for two years.

“My village is 40 km from Panipat. I used to get up at 5 am and return home at 5 pm. I sold milk for two years. I didn’t have a day off,” he said.

Finally, Nitesh asked his family for six months to resume wrestling.

“I thought of asking my family. I asked for six months and then I started wrestling again,” he said.

This decision changed the direction of his career.

BACK TO WRESTLING

Nitesh continued his training at the Pratap School in Kharkhoda, where teachers Om Prakash Dahiya and Sandeep encouraged him to take up wrestling seriously.

“My teachers Om Prakash Dahiya and Sandeep paid a lot of attention to me. They motivated me to become a world champion one day,” he said.

His progress has been steady since then. Nitesh won a bronze at the 2022 World Under-23 Championship and another bronze at the 2025 Asian Championship before reaching the final of the Asian Games.

His move to Greco-Roman wrestling also followed a knee injury.

“I started acting in Greco-Roman after my knee surgery. I never thought of going to ‘Dangal’ after the injury. I started doing Greco-Roman on the mat,” he said.

SHOOTER INTO HISTORY

Nitesh entered the Asian Games in the quarter-finals, defeating Turkmenistan’s Amanberdi Agamammedov 7–1.

He was even more dominant in the semi-finals, when he beat Mongolian Gankhuyang Ganbaatar 9-0 with technical superiority in the first three minutes.

This win took Nitesh within one match of history. India last won Greco-Roman gold at the 1962 Asian Games when Malwa Singh won the 52kg title and Ganpat Andalkar won the +97kg gold.

Nitesh couldn’t add his name to that list, but his silver ended India’s 64-year wait for a Greco-Roman silver at the Games.

FINAL

Against Nakazat, Nitesh struggled to create the openings needed to challenge for the gold.

He tried a two-on-one clinch early on, but Nakazato pushed him out to open the scoring before Nitesh was put down for passivity. The Indian defended himself from the gut wrench, but was losing 2-0 after the first period.

Nakazato extended the advantage to 4-0 in the second period after leveling Nitesh with a push and transitioning him into a takedown.

Nitesh attacked in the last minute but the Japanese wrestler defended well to preserve the lead.

“I am very happy to have made it to the final. I could have done better but I still miss it. Now I will focus on the World Cup and qualifying for the 2028 Olympics next year,” said Nitesh.

WHAT’S NEXT

Silver fueled Nitesh’s ambitions rather than ending them. He still wants to become a world champion and also hopes to get Greco-Roman wrestling a platform in the Indian Pro Wrestling League.

“I’m going to ask the organizers of the Pro Wrestling League to include Greco-Roman,” he said.

Far from competing, Nitesh remains attached to the food he grew up with, including homemade paneer, butter, churma and milk.

There is an obvious connection between milk and its story. As a teenager, selling with his father became his daily routine after the match was suspended. Years later, it is still part of his diet as an elite wrestler.

The Asian Games silver is the biggest medal of Nitesh’s career, but he sees it as the next step. Knee surgery, two years selling milk and a long return to wrestling had already shaped his path.

Now, with the World Cup and Olympic qualifiers in 2028, Nitesh has another goal ahead of him.

– The end